July 2021 marked twelve years since the last increase to the U.S. federal minimum wage. Put in different terms, minimum wage jobs in much of the country have been stuck at the same pay rate since 2009.

Prior to 1968, the federal wage floor tracked with productivity — meaning that as society produced more goods and services, adjustments to minimum wage ensured that workers earning at that level were able to purchase more goods and services. After 1968, that relationship not only severed; it’s been inverting. The real, inflation-adjusted minimum wage in the U.S. has been steadily dropping for decades, while productivity has continued to march upward.

If the pre-1968 connection between production and minimum wage kept historical pace, then the federal floor for hourly earnings would be nearly $25 today, about three-and-a-half times the actual rate of $7.25. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, $7.25 per hour is not enough for a full-time worker to afford rent anywhere in America.

Recognizing that federal minimum wage is grossly inadequate for full-time workers to meet their needs and sustain their families, many states have taken matters into their own hands. New York, for instance, is five years into a phased increase to a $15 minimum wage. In Buffalo and the rest of upstate, minimum wage is currently up to $12.50 per hour, considerably more generous than the federal rate.

It’s therefore tempting in a state like New York to drown out the growing calls for a $15 national minimum wage. We can argue that New York is already on track for $15 – and that other states can follow our example, bypassing the need for federal legislation. But such arguments ignore both the plight of minimum wage workers in the 21 states that have shown no signs of taking action, and the potential benefits that federal legislation can have for struggling workers here in Buffalo.

The most prominent federal minimum wage proposal right now is the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, which would phase in a federal hourly wage floor of $15 and eliminate the distinction between regular and tipped employees. Under existing rules – including in New York – employees who receive regular tips can be paid sub-minimum wages. A recent analysis of U.S. Census data by the Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab found that 57 percent of bartenders, waiters, and waitresses who live in Buffalo receive effective hourly wages below $15, after accounting for their total earned income.

Under the Raise the Wage Act, these workers – and all of the more than 50,000 workers living in Buffalo on effective hourly wages below $15 – could earn more income. Estimates suggest that the number of Buffalo households spending over 30 percent of their monthly income on housing would shrink by 14.3 percent under the Raise the Wage provisions, and households headed by persons of color would account for the highest share of that decrease. Thus, in addition to boosting income and making rent more affordable for thousands of working families, Raise the Wage could help to advance racial equity in Buffalo.

Twelve years without an increase – and eighty years of excluding tipped employees from full access – to the federal minimum wage is enough. The Raise the Wage Act contains provisions that will immediately support working families in Buffalo and throughout the country.

**To access the data cited in this article, visit our interactive Low Wage Buffalo data portal.**