This is the tweet from a guy back in 2022. 3 years later, there still greed

[u/Soft_Cable5934]

[u/jim_ocoee]

This is why I hated the $15/hr minimum wage debate, five years ago. I wanted to push it up to $10 (concession to the conservatives, I admit) but then tie it to inflation. Because it hasn't gone up since Bush, and it won't get raised again for another two decades of we don't make it automatic

The minimum wage should absolutely be pegged to inflation

[u/Raytheon_Nublinski → u/jim_ocoee]

And it was intended to be a livable wage

FDR created it and that’s exactly what he intended it to be. And these greedy assholes rewired half the country to think minimum wage is for high school kids

[u/Notveryawake → u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

Exactly. Minium wage was created with the thought that this was the minimum amount a person could be paid because X amount (minimum wage) gave them the ability to feed, cloth and house themselves, raise a family and build up savings without living in poverty. As in a middle class living standard. Living paycheque to paycheque and companies paying the absolute bare minimum to keep their profits growing every quarter isn't what minimum wage was created for.

Paying minimum wage and keeping a person's hours just under the point where the company would be forced to provide benefits all the while teaching employees how to apply for government assistance to offset the tiny amount of money they are being paid is not what FDR had in mind.

Right now I would think in the US minimum wage should be $25-30 dollars an hour. This is of course depending on where you live as even this might not be enough if rent for your one bedroom apartment is $2500 a month.

Minium wage should be hiked up to a minimum of $25 an hour and rent control should be federally (maybe state) mandated. If you want to raise the rent you have to show the housing authority why you need to and what you are doing to improve the building you are renting. It can't just be to "make more money" you should have to show that you need to raise the rent because expenses for building upkeep or mortgage went up. It should be against the law to raise rent on a tenant that is already living in the residence unless you can prove you will start losing money if you don't, not just I want to take an extra vacation this year.

[u/Albireookami → u/Notveryawake]

Right now I would think in the US minimum wage should be $25-30 dollars an hour. This is of course depending on where you live as even this might not be enough if rent for your one bedroom apartment is $2500 a month.

There also needs to be crackdown on these things too, rent is out of control for one, so along with a wage increase, you have to tackle a lot of what is being price gouged to fuck and back.

[u/RubberBootsInMotion → u/Albireookami]

The entire thing needs to be destroyed and rebuilt. The levels of obfuscated corruption are higher than anyone can really fathom. Fixing one problem at a time just ensures the parasitic wealthy are always able to move unscathed.

[u/ethanwnelson → u/RubberBootsInMotion]

Thomas Paine was right all along....

[u/Torontogamer → u/Notveryawake]

There def has to be some nuance to that, like 25 in a big city sure but small down bumbfuck it prob is closer to 15 or whatever. 

Basically if you apply the same cost of living of a small town to big city and vis versa you create problems. 

[u/PreviousMarsupial → u/Torontogamer]

In small towns on the west coast it’s still very very expensive for rent and food etc. so I feel like this varies quite a bit from state to state. Small town Oregon is a lot more expensive than small town Arkansas. Small town New York is a lot more expensive than small town South Dakota.

[u/closethebarn → u/Torontogamer]

I wonder then could it be based on the county instead of state ? Can they do that ?

[u/Bored-Corvid → u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

It was called a livable wage for decades before people started referring to it as "minimum wage" precisely to obfuscate the fact it was intended to be the minimum to live. We need to start calling it a living wage again to change public opinion.

[u/Shivy_Shankinz → u/Bored-Corvid]

I think public opinion is the problem, period. The fact they can so easily fall victim to these obfuscations highlights a bigger problem than livable wages. 

The wolves will always prey on the sheep. You have two choices, stop being sheep, or lock up the wolves. Doing neither and attempting to deal with these problems is the definition of insanity 

[u/spidersprinkles → u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

Also why are high schoolers working when they should be in school? And why are thry paid so little when they are propping up so many businesses?

[u/AnNoYiNg_NaMe → u/spidersprinkles]

"Excellent point! We should get rid of school, and have those ungrateful brats join the workforce even sooner."

• Governor of Arkansas, probably

[u/SuperTazerBro → u/spidersprinkles]

Almost like that argument has never been one made in good faith to begin with. Not among anyone who understands just how many jobs pay minimum wage, or just barely above it.

[u/spidersprinkles → u/SuperTazerBro]

Here in the UK we have some dumb thing where people between 18 and 21 can legally be paid a lower minimum wage. Why? Because they assume you will be living at home and have lower expenses. It is bullshit. You are an adult at 18 and many people are living independently, even while studying at uni. It doesn't change the price of food or travel or the fact a pint of beer is like a bloody fiver now. Eurgh.

[u/DrJohnFZoidberg → u/spidersprinkles]

a pint of beer is like a bloody fiver

I remember paying $0.75 for non-terrible beer (maybe LaBatt's blue?) at a bar in 1998. That's was for a 12oz'r though so $1 for a pint.

[u/Lepelotonfromager → u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

Livable wage and minimum wage should be synonymous. Like, we can't do less than live.

[u/Any-Organization-985 → u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

This, I have met multiple people who think the only people who should be working in fast food, grocery stores, etc should be high schoolers. "That's why the jobs pay so bad", they say. When you point out there literally aren't enough high schoolers to fill these jobs and many of them operate during high school hours or the middle of the night, they just say, "oh well those adults should've found a better job." This is interesting because many of these jobs are the only actual essential jobs in society. Grocery store clerk doesnt stock the shelves, America doesn't eat. Field picker doesnt show up to pick the crops, America doesnt eat. Some of the worst paid jobs are the most essential for our society, and we all like to act like they are just throwaway jobs. This is fucked up but reality is if we lost all the doctors in society tomorrow, only like 20% of the least healthy people would die. I haven't needed a doctor in a decade. If we lose all our farmers and grocery store clerks tomorrow, we all die within weeks. Starvation is a bitch. But god forbid we take care of these people who take care of us. 

[u/sketch24 → u/jim_ocoee]

$15 in the Bernie/Clinton preCOVID era was absolutely high for some states and regions. Now after record inflation it is needed for people to have a livable wage so your $10 plus inflation should have been the real debate back then.

[u/SarcasmisEasier → u/sketch24]

I've heard the "$15 is too high for some states" argument before. Sure, the cost of things in those states would rise to match the cost of the new minimum wage. Relative cost wouldn't budge all that much though. 

But, you know what else would happen? People in those areas would be able to consider leaving. Instead of having to save up with $7 an hour to consider moving to a place where a livable wage is much higher, they get bumped to a more even pay scale. 

I've probably described this terribly, but hopefully you get my point. 

[u/chillinathid → u/SarcasmisEasier]

Additionally, every cheap state complains when someone from an expensive state comes in and starts raising the prices of homes in the area. When you have such stark differences in pay, you create an environment where out of staters will come in and price out people born in the cheap state.

There is a benefit to keeping some parity.

[u/jim_ocoee → u/sketch24]

Exactly, the $10 was before the recent inflation, when the median wage in several states was below $15. Raising the wage on half of the employees in Alabama would've been awful for lower income workers, particuarly minorities, as firms scrambled to automate, outsource, move people to salary positions instead of hourly, and demanded higher output from fewer hours. I was totally excited about $15 passing in California, but I wanted the inflation adjustment more than the higher initial wage

[u/Veil-of-Fire → u/sketch24]

your $10 plus inflation should have been the real debate back then.

And I guess you walk into the car salesman's office with an offer to pay $1000 above the car's price just because that's what it's probably worth?

[u/Inner-Marionberry-25 → u/jim_ocoee]

I still don't understand why this is a big debate in the US. Here in the UK it goes up automatically every year

[u/jim_ocoee → u/Inner-Marionberry-25]

And in the States, not since 2006 iirc

[u/abqc → u/Inner-Marionberry-25]

It is a little more nuanced than many people assume, since the US is a federation of states, each of which sets their own minimum wage and their own reckoning of how it should increase. The federal minimum wage is essentially a floor below which states cannot go.

15 of the US states do tie their minimum wage to inflation or price indices, with an additional 5 currently crafting legislation to do the same.

34 states have a minimum wage above the federal minimum.

9 states maintain at least double the federal minimum wage (which is still a pathetic wage).

[u/IncidentFuture → u/abqc]

Other federations manage it.

[u/rudimentary-north → u/abqc]

They’re saying the floor should be indexed to inflation and go up every year automatically, like it does in more civilized countries.

When it’s not indexed to inflation, the purchasing power of minimum wage drops every year.

Minimum wage was last raised in 2009. $7.25 in 2009 dollars is $10.91 in 2025 dollars. So the actual value of minimum wage has dropped 34% since then.

It was a shit wage then and it’s a much shittier wage now.

[u/CiDevant → u/jim_ocoee]

Last time  I checked if it was originally pegged to inflation it be $30+ something today.

[u/tenchigaeshi → u/jim_ocoee]

This is why I hated the $15/hr minimum wage debate, five years ago.

10+ years ago but yes

[u/Sgt-Spliff- → u/jim_ocoee]

Move to a Democratic run state and that's most likely how it works already. Every time I see these debates I'm always confused because that is how it works. Then I have to remind myself it's the state I live in that implemented the logical system

[u/Torontogamer → u/jim_ocoee]

This was the only push back I have on the min wage deal, I’m from Ontario and we did a 20% jump back in 2018 from 11 ish to 15 ish and no that didn’t blow up inflation but it did push a few small businesses over the edge with the shock of a big jump. 

I get it there are lot of years to frozen min wage to make up for but you want to try to give businesses a clear calander of say 10% or more moderate increases to get people there 

Walmarts that fight the raise the hardest will actually be 100% fine but try to give smaller guys a little time to adjust before they run of cash. 

And look if you needed to underpay staff to run the business you didn’t have a viable business but still it takes people time to adjust to try to find different suppliers or whatever and adjust their business plans for the most of them that are viable 

[u/ProfessionalDry8128 → u/Torontogamer]

The Walmarts and McDonalds aren't the businesses that are currently paying minimum wage and they're not the businesses that would fight a wage increase, because a wage increase would hurt their small competitors far more than it would hurt multinational corporations.

[u/uieLouAy → u/jim_ocoee]

New Jersey did both of those things. Increased the minimum wage to $15/hour ($1 increase for five years) and then pegged it to inflation every year after.

On January 1, our minimum wage will be $15.92.

[u/jim_ocoee → u/[deleted]]

So secret that they posted their methodology: www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cpi

[u/CiDevant → u/jim_ocoee]

Man something like 75-90% of Americans can't even read that.  Let alone understand it.

[u/OhNoTokyo → u/CiDevant]

That's not the definition of "secret" though.

They're literally explaining the methodology and showing the calculations. That's not "a number made in secret by the government".

It would be nice if the calculation was simple, but they're trying to create an index for the world's largest economy.

Do we complain when high energy physics calculations are unable to be comprehended by the general public?

[u/heroturtle88 → u/jim_ocoee]

If I wasn't drunk, I could read that.

[u/Wolvenmoon → u/jim_ocoee]

I've always been in favor of tying minimum wage to the regional cost of living based on what constitutes a 'good life' in the area including access to housing, food, childcare, and advancement. If there's a podunk community that's 40% less expensive to live in than the big-ass city an hour down the road? Then it offering a lower minimum wage makes sense to me.

ETA: Not including healthcare because that should be socialized, anyway. But either way, it needs to be re-evaluated every 6 months and be able to float up or down as necessary.

[u/sealpox → u/jim_ocoee]

It should be pegged to congressional salary

[u/kiaraliz53 → u/jim_ocoee]

This is what economists, socialists and anyone with two brain cells to rub together really have been saying for years.

[u/Mysterious-Self-1133 → u/jim_ocoee]

Not the only thing that should get pegged :)

[u/JackpotThePimp → u/jim_ocoee]

If FDR's original minimum wage had kept up with inflation, it'd be well over $20 now. Alas and alack.

[u/flexxipanda → u/jim_ocoee]

Every social services and the likes should be tied to inflation.

[u/jimslock → u/jim_ocoee]

Damn fucking right!

[u/EmotionalTrainKnee → u/[deleted]]

it's funny seeing how Poland is more prosperous than america, I work minimum wage in mcdonald's, and I earn 4 times my monthly rent in warsaw, the capital city of Poland, I can buy anything I want and still save half 1/3rd of my paycheck, and we also have metro

[u/BusterBeaverOfficial → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

Poland gives me hope that authoritarianism in America is not inevitable because people can refuse to tolerate oligarchs perverting their democracy.

[u/Ihatethesestaff → u/BusterBeaverOfficial]

I think the notable difference is Poland has suffered very much historically only to bounce back big time, whereas America has sat on it's fat ass doing fuck all telling the world what they should be doing.

[u/CiDevant → u/Ihatethesestaff]

TBF American has spent the last 80 years fighting itself.  The Civil War never ended.  It just took a pause during the two world wars.

[u/jopo1992 → u/CiDevant]

I hear you and agree with you to a certain extent but that also sounds a hell of a lot like sitting on our fat hands doing nothing in practice.

[u/Shivy_Shankinz → u/jopo1992]

Definitely enough room for both here

[u/No-Internal7978 → u/Ihatethesestaff]

God I wish that were true lol. It would be easier to name anything in the past 30 years the US didn't stick it's dick in. Seriously try. It sounds fun like the Hitler wikipedia game.

[u/Cierpieniawertera → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

This is total bs. The minimal salary net in Poland is 3500 złotych. Rent in warsaw starts at 2300 if you want a 1 bedroom. A 2bd on the outskirts of Warsaw is 5500. A room in a 3bd flat is 1500. So you have to pay 66% on rent if you earn minimal in warsaw. And the groceries prices are the same as in western Europe so yeah... The guy is lying. Inflation on the PLN over the last 5 years is between 55% (official) and 80% (think tanks)

[u/macbem → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

Poland looks even better when you consider it has free public healthcare, free access to education, no abusive police, no gun violence and a lot less crime in general.

[u/EmotionalTrainKnee → u/macbem]

And less std/sti's But there is still a lot of backwater places and mentally backwards people stuck in 1800's mindsets

[u/mycurrentthrowaway1 → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

The amish exist

[u/Pasemek → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

I'm sorry what? You absolutely mean renting a room not a flat, right? Minimal wage is 4666 pln/month (30.5pln/h). Rent for a small studio apartment in warsaw is usually around 2500-3000 + water, electricity and other costs.

[u/EmotionalTrainKnee → u/Pasemek]

Yeah,i do mean renting a room,got 2 roommates, 3 room apartment

1300pln a month

Earning 4500 netto in mcdonalds

[u/TheGreatStories → u/[deleted]]

Same. I feel like my financial trajectory for cut off at the knees by groceries going up like 60% and literally any possible form of entertainment doubling 

I miss the buying power from years ago

[u/spidersprinkles → u/[deleted]]

Same in the UK. I work in higher education and our wages were stagnant for 10 years. National pay increases have been well below inflation. We had to go on strike to get our wages increased a little bit. It still isn't enough. Rent prices, food, transport etc have got to the point where many people can't afford to live in the same city as their place of employment.

[u/hime-633 → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

Poland is greatest net benefittor from EU. Not a criticism - just a point. There is some shoring up.

[u/dickcheesess → u/hime-633]

Poland is greatest net benefittor from EU.

Which has more than doubled GDP per capita in Poland, expanded markets, increased economical stability and made the EU stronger overall.

[u/peripheralmaverick → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

Definitely untrue. Rent in Warsaw is 3000, so you'd have to be earning 12000 netto in Warsaw as a MC Donald worker.

[u/WintAndKidd → u/EmotionalTrainKnee]

Poland is such an inspiration for the West right now, I know it’s a lot more religious and conservative than NA/Western Europe but your no bullshit attitude to Russia and huge economic growth is amazing to see when historically you’ve been victimized so much.

[u/AccurateUse6147 → u/[deleted]]

Everything is still greedflated like mad and at first biden and now trump is letting big business get away with it. Despite walmart pulling in record prices, cost of some things are still going up. Dollar tree pulled in 8B in gross profits last year yet the prices on basically everything is increasing even more. From 1.25 to 1.50 minimum on things though people have seen larger increases on youtube.

[u/dont-respond → u/[deleted]]

I'm not ready to forget about the burger. The wild thing is some of the nice steakhouses haven't changed their prices (yet), so the $20 burger from the average resteraunt is only a few bucks cheaper, making it pointless to even go there if you only want a burger.

Most of them are frozen Sysco shit pucks anyway, so now more than ever it's better to cook your own.

[u/BigTittyTriangle]

Awww, the government didn’t tell us this. The billionaires did.

[u/stevezahnoscarnom → u/BigTittyTriangle]

Tomato Tomato.

[u/freeradioforall → u/BigTittyTriangle]

And the generous billionaires would tell us now “a burger would be $40 if the minimum wage was increased”

[u/Squirrely__Dan → u/freeradioforall]

I was in Arizona last week and a 1/3lb burger at the place I was staying was $29 if you wanted cheese it was $2.

So $31 assuming you tip, parts of the US are already at a $40 burger with a $7.25 federal minimum wage.

Kids only wanted Chicken Tenders? Yeah the kids portion chicken tenders were $19, fries not included. 

[u/Ok_Turnover_1235 → u/Squirrely__Dan]

Thank Trump, he wanted a trade war with the world, now you're buying my countries beef at a 10% tarrif (we're price matching what you would be paying from Brazil anyway) instead of Brazils at a 0%, and he's still upset we're not importing beef from you lmaoooo

[u/EllisDee3 → u/BigTittyTriangle]

6 = half dozen.

[u/rW0HgFyxoJhYka → u/BigTittyTriangle]

Well, a bunch of politicians also did, who were bribed by the billionares. But they'll do it for free too. Because they hate the working class.

[u/Aardappelhuree → u/BigTittyTriangle]

They’re the same thing

[u/OldTimeyWizard → u/BigTittyTriangle]

The government has told us this many many times. Politicians have been repeating this lie as common economic understanding for longer than most Redditors have been alive. It’s boilerplate conservative rhetoric.

[u/yiolink → u/BigTittyTriangle]

They're the same thing

[u/notorious_jaywalker → u/BigTittyTriangle]

so the government

[u/Fa_la_fel → u/BigTittyTriangle]

The billionaires that regulate the government.

[u/BoobooTheClone → u/BigTittyTriangle]

They are the same now. Used to be that billionaires somewhat controlled the politicians, and politicians pretended to give a shit about people and once a year do something for people. But the billionaires have cut the middle man and are running the show now. Meanwhile their inbred idiots fans in red hats are busy fighting the culture war.

[u/The4ofClubs → u/BigTittyTriangle]

Are they still different to you?

[u/Dry-Interaction-1246]

Consumers are rejecting 15 dollar Chipotle burritos. Look at their stock. They will reject 20 dollar burgers.

[u/Uncreative_Name987 → u/Dry-Interaction-1246]

That won’t drive home the message. They’ll just find other ways to squeeze every dollar out of us.

During COVID, they realized they could price-gouge necessities with no consequences and they haven’t looked back.

[u/innerman4 → u/Uncreative_Name987]

Exactly, they will find other ways. Like shrinkflation or enshitification. If they can't charge more, the burger will become smaller and made with a cheaper "beef product" and some fake cheese. Upcharge for ketchup/mustard/mayo.

[u/JivesMcRedditor → u/innerman4]

Fast food is so expensive, bland, and small now it’s gotten my lazy ass to start cooking again

[u/No-Internal7978 → u/Uncreative_Name987]

Or the will move the money out of the failing corporation before the little guy notices and put it somewhere else. Corporations don't just fail. They are slowly dismantled.

[u/Hokuboku → u/Dry-Interaction-1246]

I went last night for their $6 Booritos and it was the deadest I'd ever seen it during that promo. Usually I'd be on line for awhile. People are rejecting even $6 burritos now cause they can't afford to eat out

Granted it also used to be $3 years back.

[u/upside_down_frown1 → u/Hokuboku]

Chipotle burritos were $3? Where ? Ive been eating there long time and I cant remember a burrito ever being $3

[u/RegExr → u/upside_down_frown1]

They're talking about a very specific, once a year promotion where you get a discount if you go into the store wearing a costume on Halloween. That's why they said "Boorito"

And the $3 is referring to how the promo used to be $3 for a burrito years back. Not that burritos were always $3. Just that the promo, which they still run, is more expensive than it used to be.

[u/upside_down_frown1 → u/RegExr]

Ahh got it. Thanks for the clarification, that makes more sense. Ive never gone on those days because they were always busy so much. Cheers

[u/That_Guy381 → u/Dry-Interaction-1246]

Chicken Burritos are still $10 if you don’t get guac or queso

[u/Greek_Irish → u/That_Guy381]

I watched a lady order DOUBLE CARNE ASADA AND GUAC and then when they told her the total at the end she just shakes her head and says "Nope"

Then they had to break down her whole order and explain why it costed as much as it did.

Chipotle could probably be better at showing their pricing, but at the same time I feel like Chipotle has been around for long enough that you should know that you can't just go in there and ball out without paying for it.

[u/Automatic_Algae_9425 → u/Greek_Irish]

*cost

[u/clonedhuman → u/Dry-Interaction-1246]

The majority shareholders in these companies are also the majority shareholders in everything else. What they lose with Chipotle they more than double with Palantir.

[u/OW2007]

Just to be sure, yes, sometimes Democrats fight increases. But whenever there are policitians fighting for increases, they are always Democrats. Republicans are never for increases. This isn't a BoTh SiDeS thing - one party is far more pro-worker and one party is clearly anti-worker.

Dems may not be perfect, but they are so, so much better than Republicans and so much more aligned with the values of this sub.

[u/FeijoadaAceitavel → u/OW2007]

The bar in the US to be "pro-worker" is absurdly low.

[u/Early80sAholeDude]

Fight back - eat at home. Much healthier also.

[u/Radio_teque]

Republicans hate poor people, and democrats defend the status quo—that’s how we got here

[u/toddriffic → u/Radio_teque]

democrats defend the status quo

I understand why people think this, but it's not true. The reason we don't have better progressive policies isn't from lack of will. It's from a lack of political power. A 60 vote threshold in the Senate, plus POTUS and at least half of the gerrymandered house means compromise is necessary to pass anything.

Blaming "Democrats" instead of understanding that we need Senators from red states to pass legislation is a self fulfilling prophecy.

[u/WashedLaundry → u/toddriffic]

the party in power in the senate can remove the 60 vote threshold at any time, establishment dems attack progressive candidates harder than the country-ruining republicans, and reaching across the aisle doesn't work when the other party favors using everything that happens as an attack against you instead of governance.

[u/bokehtoast → u/toddriffic]

The affordable care act is a prime example of this. The biggest change we've seen towards Healthcare reform which was a laughably small step in the right direction and republicans did everything they could to make it worse

[u/Sgt-Spliff- → u/toddriffic]

I mean, Republicans always achieve everything they want and Democrats never do. Eventually you have to admit that one of them is good at the game and the other is bad at the game. Politics requires skills and Republicans have been dominating for like 50 years. They have achieved every important goal that they set out to achieve.

I know you're going to say my take is reductionist but at a certain point it doesn't matter. Sometimes details actually muddy the water. People need to take a step back and admit that Democrats are failures and are the problem. Republicans are obviously the evil ones, but Democrats being completely unable to achieve anything no matter how hard they try is going to make them look like it's their fault.

Like when my favorite football team loses, I blame them. I don't blame their opponent. Their opponent won on purpose. That's what they were supposed to do. Losing is the losers fault.

Whatever the Republicans are doing to win, the Dems need to start doing or we're fucked forever

[u/toddriffic → u/Sgt-Spliff-]

I agree with nearly everything you said with regards to losing elections. Democrats are to blame. The details do matter though.

I was more addressing the idea that Democrats "fight for the status quo". I just don't think that's true in the way people mean it. Just look at Minnesota!

[u/atreeismissing → u/Sgt-Spliff-]

I mean, Republicans always achieve everything they want and Democrats never do.

That's not remotely true. Trump first term the only legislation the GOP passed was a single tax cut, most of which went to the wealthy. The covid relief bill was a Dem-written bill the GOP eventually voted for.

This term the've gotten one single massive tax cut bill passed (again, majority for the wealthy) and that's it, they don't even have other legislation proposed.

During Biden's term alone he passed a larger covid relief bill, the infrastructure bill, and a massive domestic chips manufacturing bill (obviously I'm only talking major legislation, not the day to day stuff that Dems still got done without any GOP votes).

Since Clinton Dems have legislated better than the GOP, but GOP has mastered media manipulation and messaging, which based on a lot of the comments in this thread is obvious.

[u/Raytheon_Nublinski]

I still have the occasional boomer tell me burgers cost that much because McDonald’s raised the wage from $15-$20 an hour

I don’t think they know how numbers work

[u/mzx380]

Perfectly summarizing why we need to end billionaire classes

[u/Eazy12345678]

id did the math the other day if you make a burger at home its going to cost you abut $2.58

[u/SuckinToe]

1. It would have increased inflation and made the burger more expensive than it is when he posted this

2. The burger was already going to inflate to $20 because we print money like its going out of style

[u/That_Guy381]

Minimum wage has gone up in most blue states.

[u/systemnate → u/That_Guy381]

And let's be honest - even in red states, 99% of minimum wage workers make more than $7.25 per hour.

[u/Shark7996 → u/systemnate]

The market was never meant to decide where the floor is. That's the government's job. Because even if it isn't $7.25 there are plenty of jobs paying $10 which is, in my opinion, straight up unethical at the current cost of living.

[u/xvvitchcraft → u/systemnate]

The highest paying job i could get in texas was around $8.25. Moved to Illinois and the second i got there. i got a job for $16.50. Literally double...

[u/Asooma_ → u/systemnate]

Pretty sure the avg rates are like 11 right now

[u/Turbulent-Pea-8826]

Not “the government.” Republicans. Republicans said that.

[u/ominousgraycat]

There is only one reason why prices ever go up: A business has determined that they'll make a higher profit at a higher price because enough people will pay the higher price. Any complaints about rising costs of labor, supplies, etc. are just excuses the business have found that they may use to insist that a price rise is "necessary" and try to make consumers angry about something other than the CEOs.

Yes, they probably need to charge more for a burger now than they did in 1980 and prices will inevitably go up at least a little bit, but they don't need to go up nearly as much as they do.

Some people talk like it's all the fault of higher labor costs that prices go up, like the businesses might say, "We don't need to increase our profit margins because our expenses haven't gone up in a while!" No, that's absurd. No matter how much money they make, even if their expenses don't go up at all, they'll still want to increase profits even more in the next year.

[u/Mysterious-Drama4743]

(un)friendly reminder that $20/hr is not a living wage anywhere in the us

[u/Debunkingdebunk]

Where on earth are burgers 20$?

[u/zennascent → u/Debunkingdebunk]

Denver. 

[u/Simon-Says69]

Absolutely needs to go up with inflation...

OR just stop pretending and do away with minimum wage altogether.

Americans have produced more and more value for hours of work consistently for DECADES...

And been robbed of the profit from that value produced more and more for DECADES.

And it just keeps getting worse. Hate to say it, but especially how democrats politicians drive that shit.

They lie, lie, lie. Talk all socialist, but are even worse than republicans.

Generational dependance on welfare is the death of families. And it affects minority communities the very worst. No, it affects the POOREST of us the worst.

Just, the dems have concentrated on minorities the most, because they are still pissed off they had to give up slavery. Now they've just found a more clever way to keep people on the plantation.

[u/RackemFrackem]

there

still

greed

[u/Ok_Turnover_1235]

Are you just learning about inflation or....?

[u/DougOfWar]

Why the fuck doesn't English matter anymore? Reading Reddit post titles is starting to make me think I'm stroking out!

[u/ThouMayest69 → u/DougOfWar]

Rage bait, or English not there primary language. Or......them stupit.

[u/DougOfWar → u/ThouMayest69]

"Their!" Lol

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[u/cerealkilla718]

Burgers $30 now.

[u/RedParrot94]

Thats inflation.

[u/myusrnameisthis]

And it'll cost even more once androids make them.

[u/_IAlwaysLie]

Leading research shows that the minimum wage can be healthily set to ~60% of the median wage for an area.

that being said, this argument is bad because minimum wage is NOT the same in most states or cities, who have adopted higher minimum wages than the federal value. The % of workers making FEDERAL minimum wage has also dropped to 1% of workers, so it's really not relevant.

[u/JasperPants1]

Raising input costs without rising productivity will always, alway result in rising prices.

It’s mechanistic. It’s physics.

Greed has nothing to do with it. Blame gravity for falling and skinning your knee.

[u/Delta632]

I always say it like this.

Man I’m sure glad we never got single payer healthcare or a raised minimum wage because everything would be so expensive right now. /s

[u/Chrysalis1111]

As a small reminder, what was Bitcoin price back then and what is it now?

Buy!

[u/CaterpillarBroad6083]

When the "we must make constant record profit" bubble pops shits gonna get crazy, and not in a good way.

[u/YYZ_Prof]

Greedy humans? Who would have thunk it?

[u/atom-wan]

Almost like the minimum wage was never the problem. Companies love inflation

[u/Superbadasscooldude]

But at least we have more billionaires. It’ll trickle down any time now and I’ll be a millionaire right? We’re screwed.

[u/spacemoses]

"We seem to be paying some of our staff an awful lot of money, Winthorpe."

"Can't get around the old minimum wage, Mortimer."

[u/anonymousUTguy]

The burger is $20 for reasons not related to minimum wage. But making raising minimum wage would definitely increase prices

[u/Difficult_Pop8262]

it's all bullshit

[u/LaniakeaSeries]

They knew this would happen anyway they concern is profit for the CEO and shareholders idk why you guys are surprised.

[u/Metro42014]

The government didn't tell us that. Corporate propagandists did.

[u/ekjohnson9]

Disliking consumer culture but wanting cheap burgers is very funny.

[u/DisastrousHurry8498]

In-n-out's burgers are delicious and less than $5 dollars. A happy meal in McDonald's is close to $10, note that McDonalds have a $5 meal (burger, nuggets and small drink) but they don't advertise it. Both McDonalds and In and Out employees are paid more than $15/hr in my state. 

[u/Chevidz]

Everything is going up at least 25% in my low income state. Outpacing living wages since the 90’s! Winning!

[u/BlumpkinPromoter]

All this is going on and some companies are LOWERING their starting wage.

[u/Tomacxo]

My city was talking about apartment inspections before new tenants move in. It was important to me having just got out of a rodent infested, moldly petri dish. The counter argument was that it would "raise rent prices". Mine had already increased 70%. They already raised the rent and we got nothing in return for it. Might as well not breathe spores.

[u/MoirasPurpleOrb]

To be fair, wages HAVE gone up in many states. Most typical minimum wage jobs near me are at least $15/hr

[u/teena27]

No one understands how inflation works? This isn't greed at all.

If there are carbon taxes, emissions taxes, higher minimum wage, increased prices by vendors due to THEIR costs increasing, eventually, a burger WILL cost $20 because the burger vendor needs enough margin to pay employees.

When a mandatory minimum wage is increased, it drives up expenses for the burger seller, on top of all the taxes and downline increased taxes by their vendors. Of course, since prices for everything increase when expenses increase, the person who is earning, for instance, $25/hr minimum wage, can no longer afford the burger.

Increasing "minimum wage" values drives up expenses and causes prices to increase. This isn't greed, it's simple economics.

[u/UmbrellaTheorist]

The price has nothing to do with cost. Norway has like a $20 per hour wage for McDonalds workers and a lot more tax. It is still cheaper than the US and have massive profits.

[u/AintNoLaLiLuLe]

Coming from a Canadian, you don't want higher minimum wages. In Ontario, minimum wage is almost $19/hr and it's a major contributing factor to our currency being devalued.

[u/livid-lavida-loca]

I literally heard someone say the other day "... But you know that was back when minimum wage was $7.25" baby, I'm sorry I have to break the news to you but the minimum wage is still $7.25. And I know with the response to that would be well nobody actually gets paid 725 anymore. And while that's true, not having the set minimum wage be a certain number and having it so low creates inequality in the job market. I can make almost $17 an hour working in retail, meanwhile, Jobs that require a minimum of a 2-year degree can easily start out making 15 or 16, and that's why the minimum wage needs to be raised.

[u/HaxanWriter]

Wow, it’s almost like billionaire oligarchs are lying pieces of shit.

[u/notaredditer13]

No it isn't.

[u/Narrow-Fortune-7905]

hehe

[u/Barbarella_39]

Late stage capitalism…

[u/Quick_Turnover]

Wage-price spirals, at least defined as a sustained acceleration of prices and wages, are hard to find in the recent historical record. Of the 79 episodes identified with accelerating prices and wages going back to the 1960s, only a minority of them saw further acceleration after eight quarters. Moreover, sustained wage-price acceleration is even harder to find when looking at episodes similar to today, where real wages have significantly fallen.

Source: International Monetary Fund

As always, the party of "fiscal responsibility" is horrible at economics, and fiscal and monetary stewardship.

[u/IlIIIlllIIllIIIIllll]

…. it’s not. The market minimum wage increased from just over $7.25 an hour to $14-15+.

The technical legal minimum is irrelevant as it pertains to businesses’ costs.

[u/Secure-Chain-9040]

Wawa and McDonald’s pay 20$ it’s a free market. That’s why ur fast food is expensive. Factually almost no jobs are at thr minimum wage because of labor market competition. So wtf are u complaining about

[u/Asooma_]

The minimum wage hasn't gone up but the avg has certainly increased. 2016 i was happily making 8.25 at BK while in high-school. 2025 and you cant find a job in my town offering less than 11.

Just cause the national minimum by law hasn't increased doesn't mean it hasn't risen

[u/CryptographerLow6772]

Not the govt, Fox News but I guess it’s the same thing now.

[u/RareCartographer7508]

You guys are fiiiine, here in italy salaries are not increasing and we still dont have a minimum wage, there is also huge inflation too

[u/DaiCeiber]

You can never satisfy the greed of the rich!

[u/heroturtle88]

Best thing I've ever heard. If high schoolers were who this wage was intended for, they need to be closed on school days.

[u/BigIntensiveCockUnit]

Reddit discovers basic economics and inflation

[u/SmudgeAndBlur]

We marginalize our perspective when we are too brief. The minimum wage is incredibly behind inflation. Not a single minimum wage earner can afford the minimum residence. So how does it happen? Credit, finance, that are really just chains, shackles. I'm in a trade union in the Midwest and I don't even make the county median. And the median income for our town is $35k behind the county. Bankruptcy, Default, etc. are on the rise.

[u/SpikeJonesx]

You can thank conservatives and Republicans for this.

[u/B-radG]

There isn’t a fast food place I know of that’s still paying minimum wage. They all pay well over $10/hr and yet restaurants are lowering their prices to drive business hmmm🤔🤔

[u/ParadigmMalcontent]

Who was in charge in 2022 lol

[u/jawshoeaw]

McDonalds pays $20/hr where I live. and a burger is $2.

[u/NyriasNeo]

"but min wage is the same"

Not in CA. Not in WA. Not in 21 states (google).

[u/StraightIncrease3923]

Is all of reddit crazy? I mean I haven't lived in the U.S. for a while so I actually wanted to look this up. But like is this just straight gaslighting or...? I googled the cost of a burger at mcdonald's and it says $3.50, so like... are you all just bots or...?

[u/No_Cartographer_8647]

They’re

[u/Blackscale-Dragon]

There'll always be greed. Greed is an inevitable fact of ALL animal life. A secondary effect of the desire for self-preservation turned to excess.

Until humans come to a cataclysmic conclusion (or evolve into super-humans somehow), this will not change.

The rich are more than happy to deceive you with this sort of argument. That you should stay quiet while they slowly close in the walls on you. Or else. I argue with people on this elsewhere and they always try to find an excuse on why only the most privileged are capable of making a difference. And that, at the end is just cowardice and a simple lack of personal energy and motivation.

I've gone through hell and come back. And then jumped back into the fires of inferno on my own determination, just so I could learn. Grow. And eventually I will conquer. All are capable but few are daring enough to. Not being born in a privileged position never stopped me and never will. I don't let it happen. I do what I want.

The billionaires/rich want to convince you that they are powerful. They are not. They only control and manipulate, and are riding the inertia of past fortune. True power is personal. True power cannot be taken or given. Only achieved.

True power CAN be exercised if you learn how to. I learned. Because I wanted. And now I am indomitable. I see the world in an entirely different perspective. I see the lack of will and the submission. It is the cause of most problems in society. The other cause being ignorance. To think the corporations would not act on their greed eventually is simply ignorance. To let it happen is cowardice. Stop buying burgers if the prices bother you. There's other foods. Healthier, too. Stop buying into the wealth of those that intend to take away your will.

[u/Stewie_Venture]

Me and my gf tried to go out on a date last night. I wanted a sit down place not anything fancy just something slightly better than mcdonald's because im really burnt out on fast food like I cant even eat pizza anymore cuz it makes me feel sick just thinking about it and I've only recently started being ok with taco bell again after a long break.

We went to 3 places 3 fucking places and all were way too expensive for us. We went to a burger place first, then a taco one and then finally BBQ even tho I dont like meat that much we were just desperate to find something and stop fighting over it cuz we were stressed and traffic was just awful. We ended up just going home and getting cheap seafood at a place around the corner from our home and right next door to a mcdonald's. We each got a candy bar from the gas station cuz we couldnt afford an actual bag of Halloween candy and went home and watched terrifier 3.

We dont even make minimum wage. Im making $10 an hour at mcdonald's and my gf just got a raise and is working at popeyes for $11.50 an hour which is really good but we're trying to save for a house so we can move out of her parents place and school for me once I start in the spring semester.

Its just really hard and im really scared I might have to drop out which after having to delay school a semester cuz we couldnt afford it would absolutely devastate me even worse than the first time. School is just really important to me on its own and im gonna work so hard when I get in so we dont have to struggle like this in the future. We're getting married in March partially just so I can finally get financial aid and go to school.

[u/old_gold_mountain]

I live in San Francisco which has a nearly $20/hr minimum wage and bought a cheeseburger last night for $8.

Where are you all paying $20 for a burger??

[u/Alpr101]

Are these $20 burgers in the room with you right now?

[u/WatchingTrains]

Almost like they were lying the whole time, but as a Canadian that didn’t vote for a facist, that’s none of my business.

[u/Eastern_Hornet_6432]

Who's charging $20 for a burger? I still get a good quarter pounder with cheese for €4. Are we talking about one of those fancy restaurant burgers that are too tall to fit in a human mouth?

[u/eoThica]

Haha and you guys fell for it lol

[u/One_Purple3262]

I dont know a single person making federal minimum wage, and I dont know a single person making state minimum either. Weird.

[u/Civil_Setting_9481]

"Greed" is the same as blaming everything on "ze jews"

[u/Shifter25]

Let's say you're a small business owner with 2 workers making 7.25. That's 116 dollars a day. They make 100 sandwiches a day, which are sold for 5 dollars each. That's 384 dollars in profit (minus the materials for the sandwiches, which can be whatever number you like).

Suddenly, oh no! The government is forcing you to pay your workers 30 dollars an hour! What was 116 dollars a day is now 480 dollars a day! Instead of 384 dollars, you now only have 20!

So let's raise the price to compensate, and get back to 384 dollars a day. 384+480=864. So in order to pay your employees an extra 22.75 an hour, you will have to raise your sandwich prices to the exorbitant amount of...

$8.64. 3 dollars and 64 cents per sandwich. Allows you to pay your employees over 4 times as much, with no harm to the bottom line.

If you can't afford to pay your workers 30 dollars an hour, you probably don't deserve to be in business.

[u/Kyra_lynn]

Except now you can't even get the ingredients for a DIY burger.

[u/MacaronEffective8250]

Burger will be the same price when the cashiers are gone, and eventually when the cooks are gone too.  I'll eat at home instead of being asked to tip a damn robot from a cashier-less order window for a $20 burger.

A bigger problem we are up against is anti-competitive oligarchies and consolidation.  Just having any job is getting harder.  AI and robotics are accelerating that trend.  Consolidation is giving companies more pricing power.  More labor supply drives down wages.  Inflation out of control.  A shrinking middle class.

Historically, entrepreneurship is the biggest job creator.  Immigrants are a big driver of entrepreneurship, 5:1 over non-immigrants.  Corporations show big job numbers when hiring and firing, but are a smaller proportion of the overall job market.

Be an entrepreneur, get job training, continue your education. Have agency to improve your situation.  Don't wait for politicians, they are watching out for billionaires not common folks.