I earned $1.85/hour at my first job in 1976. Not enough to live on but OK for a 16 year-old kid living at home. The next year my wage went up to $3.85/hour due to a job change. At the time an apartment could be had for $200/month or less. During my whole working lifetime up to the present, my wages have gone up but prices have gone up faster. Another thing not often mentioned is the number of things we "need" to buy that simply did not exist in the not-so-distant past-cell phones, internet, video games etc. My first year in college cost $1,800. Four years total cost $7,200. Personal computers were not available to the general public until the 80s. I am sure I am missing things, but you get the idea. A balance need to be created between the need for a business to continue to exist by "making a profit" and the tendency to run the business primarily to increase the net worth of those who own it. Workers tend to be the ones bearing the brunt of downturns and other events that bite into the "profits" of the owners. Minimum wage should not be a thing. Workers should be paid a more equitable share of the profit they create.
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