In this episode we talk about the Fight for $15. Wages in general, and the minimum wage in particular, have decreased in purchasing power in the U.S. over the past 50 years. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, which is around $15,000 per year for someone who works full-time in a minimum wage job. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the current minimum wage is 29% lower than what it was in 1968, when adjusted for inflation. When adjusted for productivity growth, the minimum wage should be around $24 an hour today.

Although 29 states have a minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, the vast majority of states do not have a $15 minimum wage, and we argue no state has a minimum wage that is a living wage.

Democrats propose raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour through the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, as part of their proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package. After this show aired, we learned that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could not include their minimum wage provision as part of the stimulus package, making the minimum wage increase nearly impossible to pass without any Republican support. Still, the fight does and should continue.

We also cover the University of Rochester announcing that it will guarantee a $15 minimum wage for all of its positions by the end of 2022, and we cover the winter weather and power outages in Texas which is a perfect storm (pun intended!) of climate change, privatization, de-regulation, lack of belief in and funding for a strong government, and a culture of individualism.

Thanks for joining us.