Robert Reich reviews the details.
The media talk about this as a “boost” in Social Security benefits but it’s not. The adjustment simply enables people living on Social Security (more than 70 million of us) to maintain the purchasing power they had a year ago.
On the other hand, the people working at the federal minimum wage haven’t got an inflation adjustment. They’ve been getting poorer at a faster pace and for a longer time than most of the rest of us.
Remember: Corporations pay for the minimum wage. Taxpayers pay for Social Security.
So is it ever going to be possible to raise the minimum wage? Yes.
But is it possible to include an automatic inflation adjustment in the minimum wage?
When I suggested it, Republicans balked. This didn’t surprise me.
What surprised me was that Democrats also balked. Why?
"If it’s automatic, then we can’t fight about it,” a senior Democratic senator explained. “And in presidential election years, it’s a fight we like to have.”
Bottom line: Even if Republicans control one or both houses of Congress in 2024, that would be a good year to try to raise the minimum wage again. As to including an automatic adjustment for inflation, though, I’m less optimistic.
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