The move to increase the minimum wage to 15 is presented by the uninformed as a cash grab by the lazy. The truth is 15 dollars just isn't much nowadays. The old often have a hard time forgetting about the nominal value and considering the actual buying power.
Lets ignore the fact that minimum wage workers can't actually buy houses and compare the minimum wage of $1 in 1960 to the cost of a median house at 11,900. So 11,900 hours of work 1.35 years of labor hours worth.
In 2018 it was 210k divided by 7.25 is 3.3 years of labor hours. Divide by 10 and its 2.4 years of labor hours. Divide by 15 and its 1.6 years worth of labor hours.
Alternatively we could discuss tuition at a 4 year public university where our 1965 counterpart now making 1.25 could expect to pay 240 labor hours for a year of instruction vs 1380 hours to pay the 10k it costs now at 7.25 1000 at 10 or 667.
How about a loaf of bread 22c or 13 minutes of work at 1960s $1. Now 2.50 vs 7.25 about 21 minutes of work at 10 its 15 minutes at 15 its now 10 minutes.
In real terms people wanting $15 to sweep the floor want $15 to sweep the floor because that is what it now costs to have a barely acceptable life. Not a good or a healthy one but one which is spent sleeping indoors and eating decent food.
In fact the fact is those agitating hardest for a better minimum wage are overwhelmingly have a disproportionate share of the jobs AND above average rent.
Essentially if this minimum wage looks too high you might just be too old.
Not everyone has the same options as everyone else. Some of us are just stuck trying to get by.