One Fair Wage noted that “tipped workers can still legally be paid as little as $2.13 an hour, a system advocates describe as a direct legacy of slavery.”
Over a third of US states are set to raise their minimum hourly wage in 2026, but worker advocates including Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday decried a federal minimum wage that’s remained at $7.25 since 2009—and just $2.13 an hour for tipped workers for over three decades.
Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media on the eve of the hikes: “Congratulations to the 19 states raising the minimum wage in 2026. But let’s be clear: A $7.25 federal minimum wage is a national disgrace. No one who works full time should live in poverty. We must keep fighting to guarantee all workers a living wage—not starvation wages.”
Yannet Lathrop, NELP’s senior researcher and policy analyst, said earlier this month that “the upcoming minimum wage increases are incremental and won’t magically turn severely underpaid jobs into living-wage jobs, but they do offer a bit of relief at a time when every dollar matters for people.”
Ever since Donvict 2.0, I’ve lost count of what could be called a “national disgrace”, since there are just so many of them.
I have also lost track of how many conversations I’ve had with people who make well into the six figures complaining about “giving” people more for minimum wage. I just don’t get it, and I know some of these people have had real shit jobs during high school, at least. This might make their sandwich or whatever some amount more expensive, but the people I’m talking about here can afford to dine out.
I guess some cling to the idea that “those jobs” are only for high school kids, even though they can just look around at things like service jobs and see with their own two eyes that it’s not just for high school kids. You might be - for some reason I cannot comprehend - offended by the idea of someone trying to support themselves on such jobs, but the fact of the matter is - people are doing that (or trying to), and it’s not because of some moral failing on their part.