Half of the eight Battlefield States In this year’s U.S. presidential election, they will use the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, a rate that hasn’t changed since 2009 despite a 47% increase in the cost of living since then. . Essentially, this means that minimum wage workers in these states have seen much of their purchasing power vaporized by inflation over the past 15 years.
Donald Trump’s October 20 visit to a McDonald’s restaurant in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, where the former president served food to pre-screened supporters, renewed public attention to the pay of low-income workers. Asked by CBS News reporter Olivia Rinaldi if he thought the minimum wage should be raised after spending time behind the counter at a fast-food restaurant, Trump evaded the question.
“Well, I think this. I think these people work hard. They’re great,” he said. “And I just saw something, a process. It’s beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing to see. These are great franchises that create a lot of jobs, and they’re great people working here too. “
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the former president’s views on the minimum wage.
Vice President Kamala Harris said she wants to raise the nation’s minimum wage, as well as the sub-minimum wage earned by tipped workers. Both Trump and Harris proposed eliminating income tax on tips as a way to increase the income of people in the hospitality sector.
While the federal minimum wage has been frozen since 2009, 30 states have stepped in to raise wages for their lowest-paid workers, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. That leaves 20 states that still pay the federal base wage, which amounts to an annual income of $15,000. These states are primarily in the South and Midwest, including the four battleground states that use the $7.25 an hour minimum: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Experts note that workers in these locations are likely to lag behind those who reside in states with a higher pay floor.
“It is ridiculous that Pennsylvania has a lower minimum wage than its neighbors as well as states like Arkansas, Florida and Nebraska, where voters have had the opportunity to pass increases through initiatives “elections,” Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a group that advocates for higher wages, told CBS MoneyWatch.
Earning $7.25 an hour “is poverty wages, and it’s bad for businesses and workers alike,” Sklar added.
Minimum wage versus inflation
The renewed focus on worker compensation comes amid polling that shows many people continue to face financial hardship. even if inflation fades and the labor market keep clicking.
According to Gallup, a majority of Americans say they feel worse off than they did four years ago, a pessimism that could influence their decisions in the Nov. 5 election. And 6 out of 10 voters describe The U.S. economy is either “fairly bad” or “very bad,” according to a CBS News poll.
This is likely linked to high prices caused by the highest inflation in 40 years, which has outpaced wage growth during the pandemic. However, since May 2023, the average worker’s salary has exceeded inflation, increasing their purchasing power.
This is not the case for workers earning the federal minimum wage because it is not indexed to inflation, a step some states are now taking to ensure people can keep up with the rising cost of life. If the federal minimum wage had been indexed for inflation, it would now be $10.61 per hour.
The other four battleground states raised their hourly minimum wages to around this level or more:
- Arizona: $14.35 per hour
- Michigan: $10.33 per hour
- Nebraska: $12 per hour
- Nevada: $12 per hour
“In our region, the minimum wage increased in neighboring states but not in Pennsylvania,” the Keystone Research Center, a think tank on Pennsylvania-related issues, noted in a blog post. “Minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania have also lost ground compared to workers in the middle of the wage distribution, that is, relative to the median wage.”
