The Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage is seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour. It hasn't gone up since 2009. That's seventeen years — the longest stretch without an increase since the minimum wage was created in 1938.

You'll hear that raising it kills jobs. The data says otherwise. Since 1996, minimum wage increases have been on the ballot thirty-two times. Voters approved twenty-eight of them — in red states and blue states alike. In 2024, Alaska and Missouri both passed fifteen-dollar minimums in the same election where they voted for Trump.

And the research backs it up. Decades of studies have found little to no job loss from minimum wage increases. What they do find is that workers spend the money — right back into their local economies.

Congress hasn't raised the federal minimum wage in seventeen years. Voters raise it every chance they get. At some point, you have to ask who's out of step.

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$7.25 since 2009 — the longest freeze in history. The federal minimum wage last increased on July 24, 2009. The 17-year freeze is the longest since the Fair Labor Standards Act established the minimum wage in 1938. Congress has raised it 22 times since then, roughly every one to ten years. Inflation has eroded 30% of its purchasing power since 2009 — a $7.25 wage in 2009 is worth about $5.08 in 2009 dollars today. 20 states still use the federal $7.25 as their minimum. (EPI, May 2026; NPR; Employsome)

Voters approve it almost every time. From 1996 through 2024, there were 32 ballot measures to increase state minimum wages. Voters approved 28 of them (87.5%). The only four rejections: Missouri and Montana in 1996, California and Massachusetts in 2024. In 2024, Alaska and Missouri both passed $15/hour minimums in the same election where they voted for Trump. Nebraska also passed a minimum wage increase in 2022 alongside voting Republican. (Ballotpedia; EPI; NPR; The Nation)

The research on job loss. Decades of economic research find little to no employment loss from minimum wage increases. A landmark 2019 meta-analysis by Dube (UMass Amherst) covering over 60 studies found "the overall number of low-wage jobs remained essentially unchanged" after minimum wage increases. The EPI's May 2026 review of the literature confirms: "Decades of economic research support this two-thirds benchmark, finding little to no employment loss from ambitious minimum wage increases." Workers spend the additional income locally, generating economic activity. (EPI, May 2026; Dube, 2019)

State action in the absence of federal movement. 30 states plus DC have set minimum wages above $7.25. DC leads at $17.95/hour, followed by Washington ($17.13), Connecticut ($16.94), California ($16.90). 21 states and DC will have minimums of at least $15 by 2028. But 20 states — home to about 55 million workers — remain at $7.25. (EPI; Employsome)

Related PM scripts: Corporate Welfare (connects low wages to taxpayer-subsidized benefits), The 50-Year Experiment (trickle-down economics), What Happens When You Invest in People (CTC/Medicaid evidence)