Currently it is the year of 2024, it’s already starting to come to an end. Although, what hasn’t ended is the price of minimum wage fluctuating. It’s different in every state, but in the state of California, the current minimum wage is $16 an hour for non-fast food workers and $20 an hour for fast food workers. I work in fast food so I can agree that this is accurate.
Should minimum wage change? Or stay the same? Increase?
Now here’s where some history needs to come in. If we go all the way back to 1916, the minimum wage started at roughly $0.16. It didn’t even hit $1.00 until the late 1950’s. Meaning, $1.00 per hour. Late 60’s it hit $1.65, mid-late 70’s it hit $2.00 and so on.
If we fast forward to now, minimum wage at its lowest is $16 an hour and at its highest it is $20 hourly. The minimum wage has increased due to the economy and the price changes as well as taxes.
What happened to the economy? Why do the prices keep rising?
To answer these questions, there is something called inflation. Inflation is a decrease in purchasing power of money and prices of production and services rising.
Inflation can occur when a surge is in demand of needing products or more services. Inflation occurs oftenly about every year and because of it, prices in our economy and for our essential goods and foods increase. Inflation being the cause or at least one of the causes for our poor economy, minimum wage has gone up alongside it.
Should minimum wage be the price it is?
We believe that minimum wage is what it is for fast food because teenagers complain about the pay being too low for all the work they do. Original pay being at $16 an hour in today’s day is the way it is because of how much prices have raised in the economy. The price of minimum wage, if it’s fair or not, is your opinion. At this rate, it’ll keep rising.
Works cited:
Dir, and State of California. History of California Minimum Wage, www.dir.ca.gov/iwc/minimumwagehistory.htm. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.