[Maritime Q-Scout]

If minimum wage worked in 1975 why wouldn't the equivalent wage work now?

Why have a minimum wage at all?

If the minimum wage was a living wage, wouldn't it make sense that hours worked would go down? Rather than working a full time minimum wage job and supplementing with a part time minimum wage job, someone would need only to work the one job and thus be working less? Ergo minimum wage hours are reduced?

On it's face, to me, that's like saying "since we introduced child labour laws, the amount of kids working and supporting their families in the mines and factories has been reduced to practically zero. An utter failure!" Well isn't that kind of the point? Isn't the point of having a liveable minimum wage so people don't have to work multiple jobs to survive?

In addition I though sales and spending increased with the Seattle minimum wage increase? Poor people spend money where rich people save it. Suddenly a minimum wage worker can afford to eat out more, go to the movies, attend a Mariner's game, travel (a weekend in Olympia maybe or a hotel night downtown). All that helps to contribute to the service economy and can actually expand it.

It's 8:15am, and I'm just having my coffee so not citing sources like I normally would. Perhaps I'm misremembering, again coffee being currently consumed, but I used to think a $15 was a bad idea and had my mind changed.