Someone Compares The Minimum Wage In 2010 vs 2020, And If That’s Not Sad Enough, Other People Share More Statistics
We all have our understanding of what a good New Year’s party is, but Twitter entered 2020 by sharing sad stats. However, while it’s not as exciting as lighting up some fireworks, reflecting on some important social issues really helps to put things into perspective.
Everything started when reporter Ken Klippenstein tweeted that the minimum wage in the US has remained the same for a decade – $7.25. Pretty soon, people began replying to him with other gloomy numbers. The thread has already received over 172K likes and 53K retweets, and it looks like it continues to grow. Unlike the wallets of the minimum wage workers.
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Beginning of the decade
Image credits: kenklippenstein
End of the decade
Image credits: kenklippenstein
Image credits: kenklippenstein
The first country in the world to pass national minimum wage laws was New Zealand. The Kiwis did this back in 1894. It took nearly half a century for the US to do the same. President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the first federal minimum wage in 1938, setting it at 25 cents an hour, which equates to about $4.45 in today’s money.
Image credits: kenklippenstein
Throughout the years, Congress has raised the minimum wage 22 times. The current level, at $7.25 an hour, was set in 2009. However, it’s worth mentioning that cities and states have the option of setting their own minimum wages. As of January 2019, 29 states had a minimum wage higher than the federal level.
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In recent years, these numbers have caused growing protests. A movement called “Fight for $15” has been demanding an increase in the minimum wage to a living wage (the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs). According to a calculator created by Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier, the living wage in the United States was $16.07 per hour in 2017, before taxes for a family of four (two working adults, two children).
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Share on FacebookThe single most defining characteristic of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives is that the Republicans and much of the Democrats always vote in the interest of the wealthy. Keep minimum wages low, prevent unions from being formed, cut or prevent enviromental regulations, fight against paid family leave, cut tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, challenge affirmative action legislation, deregulate the financial investment markets, deregulate banks, deregulate industry, heck deregulate everything. Conservative Americans fall for it every time.
It's a strange thing, you guys have even protested against more affordable healthcare and don't have free at the point of use healthcare like a lot of other developed countries. Like turkeys voting for Christmas..
Load More Replies...It’s just sad. Apparently having the strongest military takes priority over everything else because that’s where all our money is going
You said it! Thr USA accounts for nearly half the world's military spending. Our bridges and roads are crumbling, our public schools and libraries are underfunded, funding for NASA and food stamps is being slashed to the bone, but there's always plenty of taxpayer money for needless wars abroad.
Load More Replies...FYI - In the UK the national living wage will increase by 6.2% in April ( in US Dollars this is $11.56)
It's impossible to find a decent 2 bedroom house within about an hour's drive of my work for under $1000. Most of the 11,000 employers in my organization commute 30 minutes or more because of housing costs. When I lived in the same town during college (late '80's) my apartment was $300/month. Same apartment complex is still in business, now $1200/month. Minimum wage late 80's around $3/hour, now about $7.25 in my state.
Everything has kept pace except wages. THIS is why unions are important..
Load More Replies...Remember that minimum wage in Australia and Europe INCLUDE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE which INCLUDES MEDICAL, DENTAL and VISION.
Thats because, people who make decent $$ mostly don't care if it doesnt affect them. They get all judgy" oh you should have a better job/ go to colkege" etc. Well not everybody can.
Yeah... it's all strikingly sad, and I pity the people living in the US. Everything reminds me of the Depeche Mode song "Where's The Revolution".
Europe doesn't remotely have a low standard of living. Look at league tables. Unless compiled by the US, the US rarely make the top 10.
Load More Replies...Pretty sloppy not taking into account that "tipping" is just about obligatory in the U.S and in Australia it's almost non-existent. Pretty tight arsed system though, getting customers to pay half of an employees wage.
I'm in Scotland, the minimum is equivalent to $11.59 but it's worth more because we have a low cost of living and all healthcare and university education is free (no student loan to pay off ) Typically rent and property prices are affordable even for those on or near the minimum. The BIG problem we have here is something called 'The Glasgow Effect' which effects more than just the city itself - Google it if you're curious..
The state I live in currently has a minimum wage of $2.13 for people in the restaurant industry. It's criminal.
Don't you have this weird thing in usa with waiters' wages, where the employer pays his staff only a tiny bit, and the rest should come from tips? Which is ridiculous, meaning your employer does not really pay you full rate for your work?
Load More Replies...How's this for sad? I used to waitress the luch shift at a little Italian place. I never made enough in tips to reach minimum wage, but my employer refused to compensate. Someone making less than minimum wage can't afford a lawyer and they knew it. How many people just like me are struggling with the exact same problem all across America? When minimum wage was first conceived, it was designed to support a family of 4 on one income. Now it doesn't even provide enough for a single individual. You can't allow for this kind of extortion, then complain about the number of people on welfare.
The amount of profit a person or company makes is a meaningless statistic unless you know the profit margin and it raises red flags with me whenever I see it. If you make a million dollars a year in profit from a business that costs 999,999 you are not doing well at all.
Well, if you pay people more they will become poorer and will hate you for this. Right, byzantines, wight?
For Mr. Vanities down there. You are told that people can go - they become not educated, then poor, then not covered by healthcare, then homeless, then dead. So if we kill things, why can't we also kill businesses? For every maniac that pays 7 dollars/hour, two good people are ready to step in and pay maybe 9 dollars during probing, 12 after these 3-6 months and 15 if the government says so. Because they don't want a Lamborghini in the first year, among other things.
Load More Replies...As an American it’s painful, before obtaining a decent job I was payed minimum wage, but the amount was insufficient and ridiculous. This is also a reason why tipping in the US is so high as businesses eg restaurants don’t pay their workers close to living wage including the income tax itself. It was hard including all the additional bills, I hope the US government sees that the military isn’t as important as everything else and focuses on funding other things to make our lives better.
It's a global problem. Corruption and wealth accumulation definitely are the culprits. Voters need to put a stop to corruption, but that's impossible when the corrupt are sponsoring and placing their candidates. How do you end corruption when everybody loves to have more money?
And this is why everyone is trying to go into business for themselves instead of working for a large company. Less security, but more chance at making a real wage that they set for themselves as livable.
Don't worry guys trickle down will work as promised by republiCONs.
Thought I was doing it tough on $25 an hour. Oh wait, it's cos I'm a smoker and a pack of cigarettes cost $100 in Australia!
Australian minimum wage may look better than US wage, but I can tell you our cost of living here is exhorbitant! Food here is dearer than US, our petrol is dearer almost double than US gas, our utilities are ridiculously high, we have barely any rental homes and even then they are super expensive. Clothing can be cheap but nasty (looking at you Kmart!) , internet is ridiculously higher than other countries, mobile phone services are expensive, education is expensive even in public schools parents have to fork out a lot of money a year. Yup, Australia, the lucky country of a minimum wage, which doesn;t include you paying tax and superannuation. Deduct that and try to run a car, have a home and a family and feed yourself and stay healthy.
How about not having a minimum wage at all? minimum wage laws cause unemployment, because they price those workers whose skills don’t justify the minimum wage out of the market completely. If a worker only has the skills to produce $14/hour worth of benefits to an employer, the employer is better off not employing that person rather than losing $1 dollar/hour doing so, if the minimum wage is $15/hour. And regardless of where the minimum wage is presently, any increase in the price of labor will result in less demand for labor, all other things being equal.
Martin Friedman economics. There is a powerful group that wants utterly free enterprise. It's never worked anywhere. They consider public schools to be "welfare" and minimum wage should not be there, but should let market practices take over everything. That is where we are heading in the US. And it serves us right. It's karma for overthrowing legitimate governments in other countries in order to implement this vision, such as in Chile.
Oh my god...I too live in Bloomington, IN and can vouch for what @Shteyr said about living in this town. It’s insane how much GASOLINE costs here too...way more than anywhere else in the state. The poster in the backroom of my store says minimum wage as of July 2009 is $7.25
I think it was last year (2019), or maybe it was for the year before, that my Social Security Disability income - for the year was $11,364 - was about at the line for the Federal Poverty Level for 2012. TWENTY-TWELVE. Let that sink in.
Each state sets their own NM just increased from $7.25 to $9.00 Today, still not enough but people should contact Senators and Congressmen/women
Minimum wage is not a career. It's a stop gap. When I went back to college after working a while as an adult, I worked for less than minimum wage. I didn't whine and complain and b***h and moan. I just kept working and I found other opportunities. Wasn't easy but it can be done. Once you find your career job, You'll have to reinvent yourself several times to remain relevant and to keep from getting laid off.
Minimum Wage should be abolished. If you are worth more then you'll make more. That being said... salary should by replaced by hourly for everyone. If you work more than 40 hours you should get paid for it. Tax paid birth control and free online classes would go a long way to getting people productive.
Australia has multiple tax rates, the 45% relates to those in the highest income brackets. For the current financial year, people who earn less than $18,000 will pay zero tax. Between $18,001 & $37,000, 9c for each $1 over $18,200. Between $37,001 & $90,000, $3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000. Between $90,001 & $180,000, $20,797 plus 37c for each $1 over $90,000. Over $180,001, $54,097 + 45% on every dollar in excess of $180,001
Load More Replies...The single most defining characteristic of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives is that the Republicans and much of the Democrats always vote in the interest of the wealthy. Keep minimum wages low, prevent unions from being formed, cut or prevent enviromental regulations, fight against paid family leave, cut tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, challenge affirmative action legislation, deregulate the financial investment markets, deregulate banks, deregulate industry, heck deregulate everything. Conservative Americans fall for it every time.
It's a strange thing, you guys have even protested against more affordable healthcare and don't have free at the point of use healthcare like a lot of other developed countries. Like turkeys voting for Christmas..
Load More Replies...It’s just sad. Apparently having the strongest military takes priority over everything else because that’s where all our money is going
You said it! Thr USA accounts for nearly half the world's military spending. Our bridges and roads are crumbling, our public schools and libraries are underfunded, funding for NASA and food stamps is being slashed to the bone, but there's always plenty of taxpayer money for needless wars abroad.
Load More Replies...FYI - In the UK the national living wage will increase by 6.2% in April ( in US Dollars this is $11.56)
It's impossible to find a decent 2 bedroom house within about an hour's drive of my work for under $1000. Most of the 11,000 employers in my organization commute 30 minutes or more because of housing costs. When I lived in the same town during college (late '80's) my apartment was $300/month. Same apartment complex is still in business, now $1200/month. Minimum wage late 80's around $3/hour, now about $7.25 in my state.
Everything has kept pace except wages. THIS is why unions are important..
Load More Replies...Remember that minimum wage in Australia and Europe INCLUDE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE which INCLUDES MEDICAL, DENTAL and VISION.
Thats because, people who make decent $$ mostly don't care if it doesnt affect them. They get all judgy" oh you should have a better job/ go to colkege" etc. Well not everybody can.
Yeah... it's all strikingly sad, and I pity the people living in the US. Everything reminds me of the Depeche Mode song "Where's The Revolution".
Europe doesn't remotely have a low standard of living. Look at league tables. Unless compiled by the US, the US rarely make the top 10.
Load More Replies...Pretty sloppy not taking into account that "tipping" is just about obligatory in the U.S and in Australia it's almost non-existent. Pretty tight arsed system though, getting customers to pay half of an employees wage.
I'm in Scotland, the minimum is equivalent to $11.59 but it's worth more because we have a low cost of living and all healthcare and university education is free (no student loan to pay off ) Typically rent and property prices are affordable even for those on or near the minimum. The BIG problem we have here is something called 'The Glasgow Effect' which effects more than just the city itself - Google it if you're curious..
The state I live in currently has a minimum wage of $2.13 for people in the restaurant industry. It's criminal.
Don't you have this weird thing in usa with waiters' wages, where the employer pays his staff only a tiny bit, and the rest should come from tips? Which is ridiculous, meaning your employer does not really pay you full rate for your work?
Load More Replies...How's this for sad? I used to waitress the luch shift at a little Italian place. I never made enough in tips to reach minimum wage, but my employer refused to compensate. Someone making less than minimum wage can't afford a lawyer and they knew it. How many people just like me are struggling with the exact same problem all across America? When minimum wage was first conceived, it was designed to support a family of 4 on one income. Now it doesn't even provide enough for a single individual. You can't allow for this kind of extortion, then complain about the number of people on welfare.
The amount of profit a person or company makes is a meaningless statistic unless you know the profit margin and it raises red flags with me whenever I see it. If you make a million dollars a year in profit from a business that costs 999,999 you are not doing well at all.
Well, if you pay people more they will become poorer and will hate you for this. Right, byzantines, wight?
For Mr. Vanities down there. You are told that people can go - they become not educated, then poor, then not covered by healthcare, then homeless, then dead. So if we kill things, why can't we also kill businesses? For every maniac that pays 7 dollars/hour, two good people are ready to step in and pay maybe 9 dollars during probing, 12 after these 3-6 months and 15 if the government says so. Because they don't want a Lamborghini in the first year, among other things.
Load More Replies...As an American it’s painful, before obtaining a decent job I was payed minimum wage, but the amount was insufficient and ridiculous. This is also a reason why tipping in the US is so high as businesses eg restaurants don’t pay their workers close to living wage including the income tax itself. It was hard including all the additional bills, I hope the US government sees that the military isn’t as important as everything else and focuses on funding other things to make our lives better.
It's a global problem. Corruption and wealth accumulation definitely are the culprits. Voters need to put a stop to corruption, but that's impossible when the corrupt are sponsoring and placing their candidates. How do you end corruption when everybody loves to have more money?
And this is why everyone is trying to go into business for themselves instead of working for a large company. Less security, but more chance at making a real wage that they set for themselves as livable.
Don't worry guys trickle down will work as promised by republiCONs.
Thought I was doing it tough on $25 an hour. Oh wait, it's cos I'm a smoker and a pack of cigarettes cost $100 in Australia!
Australian minimum wage may look better than US wage, but I can tell you our cost of living here is exhorbitant! Food here is dearer than US, our petrol is dearer almost double than US gas, our utilities are ridiculously high, we have barely any rental homes and even then they are super expensive. Clothing can be cheap but nasty (looking at you Kmart!) , internet is ridiculously higher than other countries, mobile phone services are expensive, education is expensive even in public schools parents have to fork out a lot of money a year. Yup, Australia, the lucky country of a minimum wage, which doesn;t include you paying tax and superannuation. Deduct that and try to run a car, have a home and a family and feed yourself and stay healthy.
How about not having a minimum wage at all? minimum wage laws cause unemployment, because they price those workers whose skills don’t justify the minimum wage out of the market completely. If a worker only has the skills to produce $14/hour worth of benefits to an employer, the employer is better off not employing that person rather than losing $1 dollar/hour doing so, if the minimum wage is $15/hour. And regardless of where the minimum wage is presently, any increase in the price of labor will result in less demand for labor, all other things being equal.
Martin Friedman economics. There is a powerful group that wants utterly free enterprise. It's never worked anywhere. They consider public schools to be "welfare" and minimum wage should not be there, but should let market practices take over everything. That is where we are heading in the US. And it serves us right. It's karma for overthrowing legitimate governments in other countries in order to implement this vision, such as in Chile.
Oh my god...I too live in Bloomington, IN and can vouch for what @Shteyr said about living in this town. It’s insane how much GASOLINE costs here too...way more than anywhere else in the state. The poster in the backroom of my store says minimum wage as of July 2009 is $7.25
I think it was last year (2019), or maybe it was for the year before, that my Social Security Disability income - for the year was $11,364 - was about at the line for the Federal Poverty Level for 2012. TWENTY-TWELVE. Let that sink in.
Each state sets their own NM just increased from $7.25 to $9.00 Today, still not enough but people should contact Senators and Congressmen/women
Minimum wage is not a career. It's a stop gap. When I went back to college after working a while as an adult, I worked for less than minimum wage. I didn't whine and complain and b***h and moan. I just kept working and I found other opportunities. Wasn't easy but it can be done. Once you find your career job, You'll have to reinvent yourself several times to remain relevant and to keep from getting laid off.
Minimum Wage should be abolished. If you are worth more then you'll make more. That being said... salary should by replaced by hourly for everyone. If you work more than 40 hours you should get paid for it. Tax paid birth control and free online classes would go a long way to getting people productive.
Australia has multiple tax rates, the 45% relates to those in the highest income brackets. For the current financial year, people who earn less than $18,000 will pay zero tax. Between $18,001 & $37,000, 9c for each $1 over $18,200. Between $37,001 & $90,000, $3,572 plus 32.5c for each $1 over $37,000. Between $90,001 & $180,000, $20,797 plus 37c for each $1 over $90,000. Over $180,001, $54,097 + 45% on every dollar in excess of $180,001
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