'A National Disgrace': 19 States to Raise Minimum Wage But Federal Rate Stuck at $7.25 | Common Dreams
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One Fair Wage noted that "tipped workers can still legally be paid as little as $2.13 an hour, a system advocates describe as a direct legacy of slavery."

One Fair Wage noted that “tipped workers can still legally be paid as little as $2.13 an hour, a system advocates describe as a direct legacy of slavery.”

Over a third of US states are set to raise their minimum hourly wage in 2026, but worker advocates including Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday decried a federal minimum wage that’s remained at $7.25 since 2009—and just $2.13 an hour for tipped workers for over three decades.

Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media on the eve of the hikes: “Congratulations to the 19 states raising the minimum wage in 2026. But let’s be clear: A $7.25 federal minimum wage is a national disgrace. No one who works full time should live in poverty. We must keep fighting to guarantee all workers a living wage—not starvation wages.”

Yannet Lathrop, NELP’s senior researcher and policy analyst, said earlier this month that “the upcoming minimum wage increases are incremental and won’t magically turn severely underpaid jobs into living-wage jobs, but they do offer a bit of relief at a time when every dollar matters for people.”

  • wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    8 hours ago

    So it seems that the issue is that you, fundamentally, either:

    A) do not believe that everybody should be compensated equal pay for equal work

    Or

    B) do not believe that everybody who works deserves to be able to support themselves on their income.

    Furthermore, it appears to me that you are assuming a great deal about 16-year-olds. I teach high school, and most of my students are working to support their family every minute they aren’t actively in school, sleeping, or ferrying themselves on public transit.

    Finally, the fact that you seem to think that some jobs are simply lesser than others belies the fact that you value certain workers less. I genuinely wish that you could experience every person in one of these jobs walking out for two days, so you could witness society crumble. Do you think that the custodian should make less than the financier? Because I’ll tell you which one of those jobs requires more actual labour, and, spoiler: it’s not the dude throwing everyone else’s wellbeing on the pyre of their own self aggrandisement.