What is Minimum Wage?
To understand if “minimum wage” is enough to survive on you must first understand what minimum wage is and how it ranges across state and country. The definition of minimum wage is the “legally mandated lowest hourly pay that employers must provide to workers, set by a government to ensure a basic standard of living.” However, this definition which depicts that the wages “ensure a basic standard of living” is flawed entirely. Since minimum wage ranges so much from the federal lowest at $7.25 and the highest states having around $17 an hour, it’s hard to decide whether its enough when it changes so much.
Inflation and Economic Differences
In the wealthiest nation in the world, millions of Americans working full-time jobs still struggle to afford basic necessities. The federal minimum wage in the United States has remained $7.25 per hour since 2009. This was intended to ensure that anyone who worked a full time job would have enough money to support themselves financially.
This logic is already absurd considering the differences in economy from 2009 to 2026. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, “Since 2009, inflation in America has resulted in a cumulative price increase of approximately 51.61% as of early 2026, with an average inflation rate of 2.48% per year. $100 in 2009 has the equivalent purchasing power of about $151.61 today, meaning the dollar has lost roughly 34% of its value over this 17-year period.” This statistic shows the drastic change in the United States economy based on inflation and how $7.25 in 2009 could never be enough to support somebody in 2026.
Who Does It Affect?
With 21% of people in the US making 17 Dollars an hour or less, a major percentage of the population cannot live comfortably. According to cbnc.com, “If you’re thinking of living on your own, you’ll need to make about $45,000 per year in most states just to get by. That’s roughly the median income needed to cover basic expenses, according to a new analysis by SmartAsset, which looked at estimates for housing, transportation, health care, taxes and other common expenses.” With $17 per hour only equating to about $35,000 a year, it’s well off the necessary amount to ensure basic comfortability.
Therefore, with all the aforementioned arguments, minimum wage in America is not a sustainable amount of income for someone to not only live comfortably on but to survive on.
