In 1980 Minimum Wage in CT was $3.25 per hour. A decent 2 bedroom apartment could be rented for $300 per month including heat and hot water.
In 2018 Minimum Wage in CT is $10.10 per hour. That same apartment (now 38 years older) rents for $1450 per month. Wages have gone up approx 320% of 1980. The cost of housing has risen to 480% of 1980 cost.
We had no state income tax in 1980, now that minimum wage earner would be paying approx $20 per week in this tax. Minimum wage should keep up with inflation (at a minimum). Lower skilled workers should not be faced with the choice of working 40 hours per week and not being able to afford, food/clothing/shelter, or going on public assistance, getting a section 8 housing voucher, food stamps, WIC, fully paid medical and a monthly cash stipend that is larger than minimum wage.
By keeping minimum wage below a livable standard we are pushing people onto public assistance.
In my area, babysitters get $15 per hour, non-English speaking house cleaners get $30 pert hour. If you want a kid to weed your garden, shovel snow or cut the lawn it’s $25 per hour. AND all of that is cash, non-taxed income. My non-Jewish next door neighbor has a 19 year old who is a certified lifeguard. He refuses to work for the town at their pools because they pay minimum wage. Instead of earning $400 per week at the pool, he cuts lawns 5 hours per day, 4 days a week for more money and spends his afternoons at the beach
Menu