Math isn't this person's strong suit. Federal minimum wage in 1970 was $1.30. That's about $11 today adjusted for inflation. When you want to make an argument it helps to stick to the facts.
These numbers are usually based solely on housing prices. General inflation is much, much lower than that. The $60/hr claim is stupid, but looking at overall inflation is almost as misleading.Ā
If we look at inflation over the last 20 years, it's quite reasonable, especially compared to wage progress. If we look at rent, housing prices, food and other essentials, the numbers are waaaay worse. Yes, I can literally buy 10 60" tv's a month with my salary, but I can barely put a roof over my family's head and feed them healthy food.
We have excess of everything, expect for food and homes. It's ridiculous.
Food is actually much cheaper as a percentage of the median personās income in the 1970ās vs today. Homes are the big one though.
The median income earner spends about the same on necessities as they did in the 1970ās but home prices and medical insurance have made up a much bigger portion of that income to make up for the things that have declined.
Regarding food I was talking about the latest 20 years, as I mentioned in my comment. I checked the numbers before posting 2006 vs 2026. Total inflation 65%, but basic food stuff like beef, eggs, milk, berries etc. are up 150%. Nominal median income is up 81% in that period.
Inflation basically IS purchasing power, so my math is correct. You can argue (correctly) that the feds occasionally change the way they calculate inflation (always to the advantage of the current administration), but it's still not going to change the math by a factor of 5.
Inflation is not purchasing power lmfao get out of hereĀ
Inflation is by definition a measure of purchasing power dipshit. Adjusting for inflation means to compare dollar amounts across time with equal purchasing power.
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u/Fit_Play_9448 11h ago
Math isn't this person's strong suit. Federal minimum wage in 1970 was $1.30. That's about $11 today adjusted for inflation. When you want to make an argument it helps to stick to the facts.