Recently I read about another President Trump devotee, Larry Kudlow, top economic adviser at the White House, regarding his opinion of the federal minimum wage (The Washington Post, “Federal minimum wage ‘a terrible idea,’ Trump economic adviser says,” Nov. 2, The Columbian).
He totally missed the reason why we have a minimum wage. All work should provide an income to cover living expenses and historically a significant percentage of employers took advantage of employees, and it became necessary for our government to set a minimum wage.
However, over the last 40 years, the minimum wage has not kept pace with inflation. In a recent news article, the average cost for a two-bedroom apartment requires an income of about $52,000 per year. In 1970, I received minimum wage of $1.25 per hour. If minimum wage was in line with inflation, $15 per hour would be a little more than half the necessary minimum wage. Therefore, employers have been benefiting from the federal government slacking off on its responsibility to our citizens.
