Billionaire Wealth During the Pandemic

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Due to the pandemic we have millions of unemployed and thousands waiting in food lines. Yet billionaire wealth has increased during this time. This chart from Statisca.com shows the increases of some of the wealthiest:

Infographic: U.S. Billionaires Gained $1 Trillion Since The Pandemic Started | Statista 

Image Source: www.statista.com/chart/22068/change-in-wealth-of-billionaires-during-pandemic

The Gap Between Worker Pay and Productivity

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This is an often-cited graph that illustrated the rising gap between productivity and worker pay. Up until about 1980, compensation rose steadily with prodcutivity. This changed beginning in 1979 with the continuing increase in productivity but a leveling off of hourly compensation.

Image Source: https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/

But what would the minimum wage be if it were tied to the increase in productivity?

The problem is that federal law sets the minimum wage in nominal dollars; it doesn’t automatically increase with inflation, productivity, or anything else. In more recent decades, Congress has badly slacked off about raising it, and today’s minimum wage is actually lower than 1968’s once you adjust for inflation. In fact, if Congress had kept step with productivity growth, the minimum wage would’ve been $18.42 in 2014. And that’s according to a conservative measure of productivity growth. By other productivity measures, the minimum wage should be $22.49 by 2024.

https://theweek.com/articles/854375/there-economic-case-20-minimum-wage