Over the past few years there has been a lot of talk about raising the minimum wage, and the need for all workers to receive a “living wage”. I believe there is a much more reasonable and equitable solution than setting a federally mandated minimum wage to $15 or even $20/hr.
First, you have to understand that the federal minimum wage is a minimum, meaning it is illegal for workers to be paid less than that amount across the country. Of course, there are exceptions, such as for wait staff in restaurants (which should be changed), but that is a whole other discussion.
States can, and often do, INCREASE that amount based on the local economy and the cost of living. Currently the mandated minimum wage is $7.25.
Now if you lived in San Francisco CA, you would starve and most likely be homeless if you were paid $7.25/hr for 40hrs a week. However, if you lived in El Paso TX you could actually live comfortably on $7.25/hr.
The cost of living index for San Fransisco is 269.3
The cost of living index for El Paso is 81.4.
The state minimum wage in CA is $13/hr.
The state minimum wage in TX is $7.25/hr.
The cost of living is more than 3x higher in San Francisco than El Paso, but the minimum wage is only 1.8x higher.
Maybe the Federal government should mandate minimum wages be based on the cost of living index. That would make the minimum wage in San Francisco $23.93/hr, giving minimum wage workers in San Francisco the opportunity for the same standard of living as people living in El Paso who are making $7.25/hr!
This would enable people living in places like San Francisco CA, New York City NY, Oakland CA, Boston MA, San Jose CA, and Washington DC, to enjoy the same standard of living as people living in places like El Paso TX, Wichita KS, Lincoln NE, Tucson AZ, Lexington KY, and Albuquerque NM.
Raising the Federal minimum wage to $15/hr would be a HUGE windfall for minimum wage workers in El Paso, but would mean very little for the people of San Francisco. If the minimum wage were based on the cost of living, all minimum wage workers would have the same standard of living.
https://www.minimum-wage.org/wage-by-state
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