
Minimum Wage Would Be $22 An Hour If It Had Kept Up With Productivity - orofino
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/elizabeth-warren-minimum-wage_n_2900984.html
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orofino
Personally, I think relating this to productivity is a flawed benchmark,
though it is interesting to think about. The idea of tying it to the rate of
increase for top executives (the 1%) is also specious. It would make more
sense to tie increases to inflation, which we have not done[1].

Ultimately, minimum wage should be set so that an individual receiving it
would be above the poverty line, otherwise, what the hell is the point? So for
2012 we should be around $11/hr. If you want to argue that you should pay your
people so little that they'd be in poverty, then you should find a different
country.

[1]: [http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-
with-i...](http://www.raisetheminimumwage.com/facts/entry/amount-with-
inflation/)

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jejones3141
Minimum wage laws price low-skilled people out of the job market; <sarcasm>I'm
sure they appreciate that</sarcasm>. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (<http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm>, the latest I could
find), those making at or below the minimum wage (that includes restaurant
servers, who also earn money from tips) are only 5.2 percent of those who work
for hourly wages. Their median age is 25; how many of them still live at home
with their parents?

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paulhauggis
The cost of living would also be much higher if minimum wage was $22/hour. A
raise in minimum wage does not equal a raise in minimum spending power.

Many businesses will also cut some of their jobs because they just can't pay a
minimum wage that is that high (but the job might be available if it was
lower).

You might have an increase in spending power for the short time that it takes
for the economy to catch up.

Look at Denmark or Sweden. Minimum wage is high, but it also costs almost $10
to buy coffee at 7-11.

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anigbrowl
Coffe and a piece of sweet food at 7-11 in Sweden is $4-5. I'm going from the
menu in this photo taken in January:
[http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671683/rebranding-7-eleven-
with...](http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671683/rebranding-7-eleven-with-a-bold-
retro-nostalgic-style#1) That's about double the US price but rather less than
the $10 you suggested. I would guess the coffee alone is about $3.

