“The minimum wage is far lower than it was at its peak over 50 years ago in 1968,” said economist Lawrence Mishel, distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, which tracks minimum wage changes.
That’s even as the productivity and efficiency of workers has more than doubled, he said.
“The failure to increase the minimum wage has really undercut the wages of the bottom third of the work force,” Mishel said.
…One problem with waiting to address low hourly wages is rising inflation, according to Mishel.
“Inflation has already undercut the minimum wage quite a lot,” he said.
…
One argument against raising the hourly pay rate is that it could adversely businesses and employment. But there is little evidence to support those claims, Mishel said.
“There may be some firms that close, but others open up, too,” he said. “One can ask, if a firm can only survive with substandard wages, is that a good outcome?”