I couldn't agree with you more. This is what I found in my research on the minimum wage: "According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, in the 40 years between 1974 and 2014, the median earnings of all workers barely budged, from $43,500 in 1974 to $45,000 in 2014."

https://aninjusticemag.com/raise-the-minimum-wage-now-808eb00663c

We need the mimimum wage to go to $15 for all workers, including tipped service workers. Plus, we need labor unions to rise up again. As labor unions increase, income inequality decreases. When I was a girl my uncles [ postman, fireman, auto workers] were all in labor unions. My grandfathers helped to start labor unions in the steel industry and in baseball. My uncles worked blue collar jobs. owned their own homes and supported their families on one income. Today, the rich are getting rich on the backs of the working people and money is flowing upwards instead of down to the people. We live in the Second Guilded Age. It has to stop because you're right: we can't make ends meet, we can't get by on our wits, we're can't live anymore. Thank you for a great article.