Minimum Wage II

 Another Saturday Night

Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody

I got some money 'cause I just got paid

How I wish I had someone to talk to

I'm in an awful way

Some money may not be a lot of money, if the job paid only the federal minimum wage.

The media has characterized the Biden administration proposal as raising the minimum wage to  $15 per hour.  However the wage increases to that amount over 5 years and the initial adjustment in 2021 only raises the minimum wage to $9.50. This basically restores the current federal minimum wage to the amount in 2017 Dollars.  The minimum wage was last set in 2009 and there has been inflation since that time. There should be bi-partisan support for this raise, especially since this is merely applying a Cost Of Living Adjustment, COLA,  to a 2009 statutory amount.

After 2025, the proposal requires a Cost Of Living Adjustment to its minimum wage of $15.  There has been bi-partisan support for COLAs in Social Security, IRS Tax Rates, and many other amounts stated in federal laws.  There should also be bi-partisan support for applying a COLA to any statutory  minimum wage.

The discussion of what the minimum wage should be, and let me state for the record I believe that it should be more than $9.50 in 2021 USD, is a separate discussion that should not change the fairness of applying a retroactive COLA to the current minimum wage and ensuring that the minimum wage will continue to be adjusted by a COLA forever in the future.