today's federal minimum wage of $7.25 has about 40% less buying power than it did in 1968

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historical Significance

Peak Purchasing Power: The 1968 federal minimum wage of $1.60 had the highest buying power of any minimum wage in U.S. history.
begin quote from this article regarding purchasing power of 1968 compared to now. 
 
 
The purchasing power of the federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at $1.60 an hour, which is equal to roughly $12 to $14 an hour today when adjusted for inflation, meaning today's federal minimum wage of $7.25 has about 40% less buying power. 
1968 Peak vs. Today
1968 Nominal Wage: $1.60 per hour.
1968 Value in Today's Dollars: Approximately $12 to $14 per hour (adjusted for inflation).
Current Federal Minimum Wage: $7.25 per hour (unchanged since July 2009).
Purchasing Power Loss: Current federal minimum wage workers have roughly 40% less buying power than workers did in 1968. 
Annual Impact
1968 Peak (Full-Time): Roughly $29,120 a year in modern buying power.
Current Federal Minimum (Full-Time): $15,080 a year.
Difference: Full-time minimum wage workers earn about $14,040 less per year today in real purchasing power compared to 1968. 
Would you like to compare this to state-specific minimum wages or look at how worker productivity has grown over the same period?
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Economic Policy Institute
https://www.epi.org › blog › the-value-of-the-federal-m...
Jul 14, 2022 — ... minimum wage today is worth 27% less than 13 years ago—and 40% less than in 1968: Real value of the minimum wage (adjusted for inflation) ...
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