Her fast-food paycheck sucks, but she'd have been much happier in 1968.
Regardless of what side of the minimum wage debate you fall on, the conversation is bound to get heated. But a deeper look at how minimum wage has changed over the years shows just how screwy this whole situation is.
Fast-food workers are demanding a higher wage and for good reason.
Nancy Salgado, a 10-year McDonald's employee, got quite a lot of attention in 2013 when she and a group of protesters showed up at a luncheon during McDonald's president Jeff Stratton's keynote address. Here's what she wanted to know.
But how did we get here?
The minimum wage has been raised numerous times over the years, peaking in 1968. And as a nation, we've come a long way since the '60s. But in comparison with today, we haven't come that far when it comes to giving workers a decent living wage. Take a look at these comparisons from Time magazine's "A History of the Minimum Wage."
And while the average household is earning $91 more than they did in 1968, minimum-wage workers are earning $7,363 less than they were making in 1968 (adjusted for inflation). I highly doubt McDonald's employees like Nancy Salgado would wanna take a time machine back to 1968, but at least her wallet would be a lot fatter.
There's no way you could convince me to go back to the '60s — heck, in 1967, interracial marriage had just become legal in all states! That would've made my husband and me former outlaws! But it's pretty bad when 1968 America has the modern day beat when it comes to raising a family on a living wage.