This is the major flaw that proponents of a higher minimum wage, and opponents both use as a wedge issue.

Minimum wage has never been tied to inflation. It should be tied to spending power on a broader scale. If wages rise, of course inflation will rise (by a minuscule amount), but everyone will have more spending power.

The problem is that not all wages will rise. If you make $16/hr today, and the Minimum wage raises to $15/hr, it’s questionable whether or not your wage will rise. How should this be handled? I’ve had low-skill union jobs where I made more than my managers (and their managers).

Some argue that because of the skillset, or tenure that they’ve had at their jobs they should make considerably more than the new hires, or people they are above in the command chain, but don’t foresee their bosses giving them a $7/hr raise.

We’re in a sort of gridlock where the people on the bottom really need a huge bump, the people on the top don’t want to see profits stop growing exponentially, and people in the middle are incentivized to agree with the top.

I don’t know that there’s a better solution than raising minimum and letting the middle job market correct itself, but Congress seems happy to do nothing until a better solution is found.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.