Bardonomics

Fast food workers on strike in Richmond, VA. Image: Bernard Pollack In today's world of rising inequality and decreasing social mobility, there are few economic issues as contentious as that of the minimum wage. There have long been loud voices arguing on either side; interestingly, both those who are for and against an increase maintain that they hold the best interests of the poor. Recently the tide has favoured those advocating for a higher minimum wage. This is particularly true in the United States, which has a lower minimum wage than most developed countries. Those who support a higher minimum wage assert that it is an effective way to improve the plight of the growing ranks of the working poor, people who often work multiple jobs but remain beneath the poverty line. Many demand that a 'living wage'—a wage high enough to maintain a normal standard of living—be instituted. They say that a living wage is the only way to ensure wellbeing for workers in a labor mar