Then you're a LOT younger than you claim to be....my first job was minimum wage and I was getting around 80 cents an hour IIRC. I know for sure it was under a buck.
Indeed. My First job - Dishwasher at Holiday Inn - paid me exactly $.80 per hour.
Methinks someone is lying. I'm 69 years old. I don't remember, but I "think" that a minimum wage of $2.17 an hour was in the middle to late 70s. By then, I had been to Vietnam and returned.
In 1956 the federal min wage was increased to $1.00 per hour. 1961 $1.15. 1963 $1.25
1967, $1.40. 1968 $1.60. 1974 $2.00 1975 $2.10. 1977 $2.30
And the rest
Jan 1, 1978
$2.65 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jan 1, 1979
$2.90 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jan 1, 1980
$3.10 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jan 1, 1981
$3.35 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Apr 1, 19904
$3.80 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Apr 1, 1991
$4.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Oct 1, 1996
$4.75 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Sep 1, 19975
$5.15 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jul 24, 2007
$5.85 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jul 24, 2008
$6.55 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Jul 24, 2009
$7.25 for all covered, nonexempt workers
Source....US Dept of Labor