How The Value of Minimum Wage Has Changed

The value of the dollar is growing day by day. Everyone always hears stories about how much change could get you back in the day and now change can get you little to nothing. It is a known fact that if you go to buy a gallon of milk a few years ago it was cheaper. Means of transportation such as gas, cars, and tickets to use public transportation were also cheaper. All of these prices have been increasing steadily over the past couple of decades, so why hasn’t the minimum wage been increasing as well? In the last fifteen years congress have approved of two minimum wage increases.

As you can see from this graph, the value of minimum wage is not what it used to be. As of right now we have been heading back towards the value being what it was in the nineteen forties. An increase in minimum wage will not only get the people the value for their money back, but will also drive workers to be more productive, and would in turn improve their specific workplace. It is a known fact that better pay leads to a better worker morale and in turn will increase productivity. In a blog I came across, I found a quote from the CEO of Gap. He stated “Our decision to invest in front-line employees will directly support our business, and is one that we expect to deliver a return many times over.” All workers want to feel good about what they do, and increasing the minimum wage would keep people feeling better about what they do, keeping businesses flowing smoothly.
The link to the blog that I previously mentioned is https://blog.dol.gov/2014/07/18/what-5-employers-have-to-say-about-the-minimum-wage/