The reality for working Americans is that
wages have been largely stagnant for
over three decades. For many workers -- especially those without a
college degree -- pay has actually gotten worse, meaning that this
generation is the first one in American history which is not doing
signficantly better than the previous one. Part of the reason for
these stagnant wages is that inflation was allowed to erode the federal
minimum wage-- its
inflation-adjusted value dropping from $9.12 per hour in 1968 down to just $5.15 per hour in 2005.
