Suppose the Minimum Wage Was $0

question 64

Essay

Suppose the minimum wage was $0.25 per hour in 1938 and the CPI in that year was 11.5. If the CPI in 1990 was 130.7, what is the real value of the 1938 minimum wage in terms of 1990 dollars? The real value of the 1990 minimum wage in terms of 1990 dollars is $4.25. Has the real value of the minimum wage declined since 1938?

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Definitions:

Steamboat

A boat that is propelled by a steam engine, playing a crucial role in the 19th-century development of river and coastal transport.

Commerce

The activity of buying and selling goods and services, especially on a large scale, involving transportation, finance, and marketing.

Transcontinental Railroad

The railway system that connected the eastern and western parts of the United States, completed in 1869, facilitating widespread economic growth and settlement.

Canals and Steamboats

Key components of the early industrial transportation network, where canals allowed for the movement of goods through waterways and steamboats provided powerful and reliable river transportation.