Many people say we don't need to raise the minimum wage in America. I see it repeatedly.
It made me think.
I remember, distinctly, how I was proud of making $21,000 per year as assistant manager of a men's retail store I worked at in 1979. It didn't make me rich, no way, but I very clearly remember that wage landmark at that time.
So I took that amount and time and put it in a inflation calculator online. The results were stunning.
It showed that that amount, $21,000 per year in 1979 would be the equivalent of earning over $74,000 today. In fact, it would be nearly $75,000 in today's money.
Don't believe it? See for yourself.
CPI Inflation Calculator
Mind you, a great, great deal has changed since, what with retail stores continually being hit and hit hard by "big box" and now online stores, these wages, at least from retail positions, are no longer possible. That said, other industries could, in fact, pay far more reasonable, fair and living wages.
The statistics prove this out.
For most workers, real wages have
barely budged for decades
2014 Continues a 35-Year Trend
of Broad-Based Wage Stagnation
The Average American Worker
Earns Less Today Than 40 Years Ago
And corporations have made out very, very well.
Corporate Profits Grow and Wages Slide
As have the CEOs and executives.
CEO Pay Has Grown 90 Times Faster
than Typical Worker Pay
Corporate Executives Are Making
Way More Money Than Anybody
The problem is especially American, too.
American CEO pay: U.S. executives are paid
way more than foreigners
It's pretty outrageous what is happening and what we're letting happen to and with the nation's wealth.
The Richest 1% Have Captured
America's Wealth
The Top 1 Percent's Share of Income
from Wealth Has Been Rising for Decades
We need to fight. We need to fight back. We need to end the Citizens United ruling and end campaign contributions entirely. It's the only way we'll get it back where the government and nation work for the people again, for all the people and not just for the already-wealthy and corporations.
Links:
