Did you ever work for minimum wage?

I did, while working my way through college.  That was back in the 60s, when minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, was $8.41 per hour in today's dollars.   Were I working my way through college today, I would have a harder time, earning only $7.25 per hour (today's minimum wage).  http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/07/sixties_budget_plan.html


Working 40 hours a week with only 2 weeks off for (unpaid) vacation, with no holidays nor sick days (rather unrealistic), I would earn $3,610 above the poverty level for a single person.  But, for a 2 person household, say I had a child to support, my income would be $210 below poverty level.  (The earned income tax credit would help some.)


How can we justify a minimum wage that is $1.26 lower than it was 35 years ago?

Economic Recovery???

Cartoon by Signe Wilkinson, 7-6-11, http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/signe/?c=r