If the minimum wage had simply kept up with inflation, it would be… $22/hour. Yes, globalization has changed the labor picture, and automation can cannibalize certain jobs, but for the most part, labor is needed in all areas just as it was in the 80s.

The problem is that as productivity has made companies money, they’ve funneled it to the top: To shareholders and managers. It’s an immoral, unforgivable system that needs to end.