Whose American Dream?

August 22, 2023

Are you struggling to make ends meet on the UK minimum wage of £10.42 an hour (or less if you’re under 22)? It’s even worse in the ‘land of the free and home of the brave’.

If the US federal minimum wage had gone up in the last few decades at the same rate as Wall Street bonuses it would be a mighty $42 (£33) an hour. In fact it hasn’t gone up in 14 years, and is still where it was in 2009, a widow’s mitey $7.25 (£5.69) an hour. That’s only slightly above what UK employers pay 16-year-olds.

Capitalists (like Trump) are living the American Dream, while workers virtually live on air and work for free.