Real minimum wage
Letter writer Maria Elena Lopez erroneously claims the minimum wage earned by Marco Rubio’s parents in 1968 would now be the equivalent of $22.16 per hour in an apparent effort to justify a $15 minimum wage.
The facts, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, are that in 1968, the U.S. minimum wage was $1.15 an hour.
Accordingly, a $1.15 minimum wage in 1968 would now be worth $7.71, nowhere close to $21.16 that Lopez claims. Note that the minimum wage was never meant to be a “living wage” adequate to support a family.
Rather, its purpose was to provide a minimum entry-level pay standard for inexperienced or unskilled workers.
Peter J. Clancy,
Palmetto Bay
This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Real minimum wage."