Tomorrow, July 24th, a new federal minimum wage standard goes into effect. Instead of $5.85 per hour, the new rate will be $6.55 per hour. And next year, the federal minimum wage will head up to $7.25 an hour.
For some folks, especially those in rural states like where I live, this will mean a pay raise. (In many cities and in some states, wages are already trending above even next year's increase.) But with inflation, it may not really provide as much as one could hope. Food inflation and energy prices might ensure that this move is little more than a cost-of-living increase.
This brings up an important point. The legislators that voted this minimum wage increase in regularly vote themselves pay raises so that they can keep up with their "cost of living." What about the rest of us? Every now and again they throw us a bone, but the average American is largely the subject to the whims of inflation, watching as earning power is eroded.
Is the federal minimum wage law outdated? Do you think a law should be enacted in order to ensure cost of living increases for the American public?
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