do the numbers prove anything?
Federal Minimum Wage Rates, 1955–2012
| |
Value of the
minimum wage |
|
Value of the
minimum wage |
|
Value of the
minimum wage |
| Year |
Current
dollars |
Constant
(1996)
dollars1 |
Year |
Current
dollars |
Constant
(1996)
dollars1 |
Year |
Current
dollars |
Constant
(1996)
dollars1 |
| 1955 |
$0.75 |
$4.39 |
1983 |
3.35 |
5.28 |
2011 |
7.25 |
5.06 |
| 1956 |
1.00 |
5.77 |
1984 |
3.35 |
5.06 |
2012 |
7.25 |
4.97 |
| 1957 |
1.00 |
5.58 |
1985 |
3.35 |
4.88 |
|
|
|
| 1958 |
1.00 |
5.43 |
1986 |
3.35 |
4.80 |
|
|
|
| 1959 |
1.00 |
5.39 |
1987 |
3.35 |
4.63 |
|
|
|
| 1960 |
1.00 |
5.30 |
1988 |
3.35 |
4.44 |
|
|
|
| 1961 |
1.15 |
6.03 |
1989 |
3.35 |
4.24 |
|
|
|
| 1962 |
1.15 |
5.97 |
1990 |
3.80 |
4.56 |
|
|
|
| 1963 |
1.25 |
6.41 |
1991 |
4.25 |
4.90 |
|
|
|
| 1964 |
1.25 |
6.33 |
1992 |
4.25 |
4.75 |
|
|
|
| 1965 |
1.25 |
6.23 |
1993 |
4.25 |
4.61 |
|
|
|
| 1966 |
1.25 |
6.05 |
1994 |
4.25 |
4.50 |
|
|
|
| 1967 |
1.40 |
6.58 |
1995 |
4.25 |
4.38 |
|
|
|
| 1968 |
1.60 |
7.21 |
1996 |
4.75 |
4.75 |
|
|
|
| 1969 |
1.60 |
6.84 |
1997 |
5.15 |
5.03 |
|
|
|
| 1970 |
1.60 |
6.47 |
1998 |
5.15 |
4.96 |
|
|
|
| 1971 |
1.60 |
6.20 |
1999 |
5.15 |
4.85 |
|
|
|
| 1972 |
1.60 |
6.01 |
2000 |
5.15 |
4.69 |
|
|
|
| 1973 |
1.60 |
5.65 |
2001 |
5.15 |
4.56 |
|
|
|
| 1974 |
2.00 |
6.37 |
2002 |
5.15 |
4.49 |
|
|
|
| 1975 |
2.10 |
6.12 |
2003 |
5.15 |
4.39 |
|
|
|
| 1976 |
2.30 |
6.34 |
2004 |
5.15 |
4.28 |
|
|
|
| 1977 |
2.30 |
5.95 |
2005 |
5.15 |
4.14 |
|
|
|
| 1978 |
2.65 |
6.38 |
2006 |
5.15 |
4.04 |
|
|
|
| 1979 |
2.90 |
6.27 |
2007 |
5.85 |
4.41 |
|
|
|
| 1980 |
3.10 |
5.90 |
2008 |
6.55 |
4.77 |
|
|
|
| 1981 |
3.35 |
5.78 |
2009 |
7.25 |
5.30 |
|
|
|
| 1982 |
3.35 |
5.78 |
2010 |
7.25 |
5.22 |
|
|
|
1. Adjusted for inflation using the CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers).
Source: U.S. Department of Labor. Web: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/flsa/.
overlay this with some misleading facts…. at first glace this table says something ob that the largest increasee of spending power came during richard nixon’s first term as president of the usa, a republican/conservative who moved us of the gold stand. the lowest point of of purchasing power also came within another republican’s presidency 0 george w bush… the longest run within stable or the least change of spending power seem to be within democratic years of jfk and johnson and the most years of no changes within an era of one party regeans of republican fame.
perceptions of golden years or goatish years seem to still hail the fifties era of eisenhower as the best of times., perhaps this is because of the sixties social changes and vietnam “police action”…war… the most prosperous years of actual spending power have all come during war in progress or coming quickly years with ONE possible exception where in 1197 we had an economic upswing but not particular war just a number of preparations for evacuations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations#1950.E2.80.931959
itstill amuses me that based against purchasing power money went further than ever before and not again again since 1968 wherein rfk was assassinated, martin luther king jr was too, vietnam was escalating as if no one protested that and
news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/…/2902487.stm
Dozens of major cities in the United States are rocked by an escalation in the race riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King.
as you can see money went further than before and ever so far since and quite a lot of people figured out they were pretty much …not happy about alot of things….
the only time in the USA’s history that we were nationally debt free was 1835 during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. wiki/whitehouse as picture and sources info. by a fairer valueation of money and debt there was no time ever more expensive for this country than ww2
this hold that the best increase in pay to match the rise in product cost like food was being a miner from1900 throu the ww1, or in transportation.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/The-Rise-of-Organized-Labor.topicArticleId-25238,articleId-25181.html
it would seem this was partially the influence of unions gaining teeth and membership to be a truer political force…this oddly was acheived at the exclusion of immigrants and most minorities.
overall the longest period with the deepest decreases in debt came after ww2 which nearly erased war debts and a siginicant chunk of the new deal policies of the depression.
n 35 andrew jackson erased all US debt no one before or since has acheived that.
-
—
do these numbers prove anything? no not really
Comments (10)
I need to read this and some of your recent posts more carefully. What I am seeing here is you are saying the actual status of the lower classes doesn’t lessen their feelings of anxiety? Or, not saying it, but possibly implying it. ? Or I am missing it? yeah, I need to re-read. later tonight, hopefully.
@distractedbyzombies - I’m on a can you see it kick. I don’t include it but there is a wealthwatchwherein debts fdr to obama shows how obama makes fdr look like a fiscal saint and another blog where obama is the new andrew jackson…the only us president to complete pay off the entire usa debt. whose looking out of whose flippin’ glasses? lol truth is not much from what i see above has changed…this is of course an oppinion.
at perhaps ten cent an hour..stats are hard to come by on eighteen fifty four wage averages at the moment whichdates to walden or life in the woods by h.d. thoreau another book on utopia if you’d like with a creat accounting of what his shanty cost or his shack or a home. butit is amusing that the supposed civil war frees the slaves yet the harsh loss of lincoln and ineffective johnson led to the jim crow laws repressing most of the gains there by yet interestingly it would appear that trade unions largely racist did more to keep anyone non whatever out of the door. is that a fact? no that is a opinion again it just as easily gould be shown unions advance most social agendas for all
Isee that all this worry over money is worth noting and discussing but, it would appear that people forget tough times are when to invest… or buy low and later sell high…there is really really a lot of room to succeed .. it isn’t garunteed but what is? save that how ever we choose to march forwards.. we … al have a fairly good shot at the american dream.
what is clear though is it is rather inconvenient and entirely one’s fault…ooops responsibility if they are rich or broke…again true but a point I like to make is it flat out isn’t true a poor person is automatically lazy. however the game however rigged still stably seems to be the same and stably it’s likely to stay debt ceilings and fiscal cliffs and all. it took what appears to be over twent years to pay for our 3 year direct involvement in world war two or nearly a one to seven ratio of years to play war and seven to pay it back. . the overall best time I saw was the years where it seems political unrest was at it’s heights and growing. nah, I don’t think the plight has gotten worse, yes education has skyrocketed but the price of televisions did decrease!
you’ve broken my head. again.
@promisesunshine -
I read somewhere that a politician was pushing for $22.50
@godfatherofgreenbay - lol push it too high and it just colapses the economy
I appreciate what you’re saying and agree with you, within the paradigm, there is opportunity, at least here in this country. But what with the world bank sinking world economies and taking resources for the richest countries while leaving the poorest in squalor, as I have heard (but don’t know) they do, is that all over opportunity or just opportunity in the good ole USA? Not to be picky, I truly think you make some great points. Won’t there have to always be a scarcity of resources with this economic system, meaning someone somewhere goes without?
@distractedbyzombies - I enjoy pointing out the zombies aren’t liable to get us but unless we make our own cheese fall off our crackers and forget this is real life and there are movies…I mean the worst zombi-like action I know of is someone passing colds/flus but there is a remote possiblity of rabies taking one’s brains but that doesn’t fit the model.
@starmanjones - You don’t foresee complete economic collapse to the point that people will be eating one another. I very much hope that’s true. I certainly don’t expect it, or I’d be in a bunker already. But I try not to make predictions because I’m not a prognosticator.
@distractedbyzombies - I too am not up for hire on prophet or profiteering. but, what I see here which I’ve never seeseriously though, I was telling one business student while waitinn in this scope still doesn’t change my mind about a simple maxim of business… buy low…sell high… right now it appears our economy could use an infusion and we’ve numbers to make that tastier to investing opportunity….bad news for consumers though with a lower buying power and a lot of worry there is less cash moving about their directions… but, this is not necessarily either great news nor gross news…as with all times it can swing both ways.. it can be riots in the streets or a dang great day to buy up discounted america…oh shoot I left that whip a whale to death with that kind of a wad of cah in my other wallet….in my other pants…the check’s in the mail.
I was telling a business studen that waiting for a bus whining about the shia poo poo economy and I pointed out that the business maxim… you might think it odd but I hope I left him thinking about the glimmers of golden possibility. also mr distracted by zombies… you could just as easily get a lot more distractions
who knows..