據美國消費者新聞與商業頻道（CNBC）7月20日報道，經濟政策研究所（EPI）的一項新分析顯示，美國創紀錄的高通脹率已經把聯邦最低工資的價值推到了66年來的最低水平。目前聯邦最低工資為時薪7.25美元，處于1956年2月以來的最低水平，當時的聯邦最低工資為時薪75美分，相當于現在的7.19美元。

The federal minimum wage is at its lowest value since February 1956, analysis from the Economic Policy Institute shows.
經濟政策研究所的分析顯示，聯邦最低工資處于1956年2月以來的最低水平。

The nonpartisan think tank’s recent analysis of Consumer Price Index (CPI) data found that the $7.25 federal minimum wage hasn’t been worth less since the Eisenhower administration, when the minimum wage was 75 cents, which would be worth $7.19 today.
這家無黨派智庫近日對消費者價格指數（CPI）數據分析發現，目前聯邦最低工資為時薪7.25美元，處于自艾森豪威爾政府時期以來的最低水平，當時的聯邦最低工資為每小時75美分，相當于現在的7.19美元。

Congress hasn’t increased the minimum wage since 2009, when it went from $6.55 to $7.25. The nearly 13 year gap since the last increase is the longest the government has gone without upping the minimum wage since it was first introduced in 1938.
2009年聯邦最低工資從每小時6.55美元提高到7.25美元，此后，國會未再上調最低工資水平。這是自國會在1938年設立聯邦最低工資以來，最長時間未上調最低工資。

“From basically the late 1950s until the early 1980s, Congress used to raise the minimum wage fairly frequently,” David Cooper, director of the economic analysis and research network at the EPI, tells CNBC Make It. “It was only starting in the 1980s with the Reagan administration where we went through this long spell where we just didn’t touch the federal minimum wage.”
經濟政策研究所經濟分析和研究網絡主管大衛·庫珀對CNBC Make It欄目表示：“基本上，從20世紀50年代末到80年代初，美國國會一直頻繁地上調最低工資水平?！?/p>

Until now, the previous longest span between minimum wage increases was 10 years, between September 1997 and July 2007.
到目前為止，上一個最低工資上調的最長時間跨度是10年，即1997年9月至2007年7月。

“We’ve gotten into this pattern where we let inflation just eat away at the minimum wage’s value instead of doing something to make sure that it’s still a more adequate wage for folks,” Cooper says.
庫珀說：“通貨膨脹使最低工資價值縮水，而政府卻沒有采取措施來確保最低工資處于合理水平?！?/p>

A person earning the minimum wage for a full-time job in 2009 when it was raised to $7.25 was effectively earning $5,000 more than a person earning the same wage and working the same hours today.
2009年，全職工作的最低工資上調到每小時7.25美元，那時一個人的收入實際上比今天同樣工資和工作時間的人多5000美元。

“Think what that means for someone who’s trying to afford rent, or a car payment, or student loans or whatever it may be,” Cooper says. “That’s an enormous difference in that person’s quality of life.”
庫珀說：“想想這對那些支付房租、車貸、學生貸款或其他任何費用的人來說意味著什么。人們的生活質量與那時相比有很大區別?！?/p>

Many parts of the US have taken minimum wage increases into their own hands, with Nevada, Oregon, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. all increasing their minimum wages as of July 1, CNBC reports. Other states with higher minimum wages include Vermont, South Dakota, New York, California and New Mexico. But 20 states still have a minimum wage of $7.25.
據CNBC報道，截至7月1日，美國許多地區已自行提高最低工資，如內華達州、俄勒岡州、康涅狄格州和華盛頓特區。其他最低工資較高的州包括佛蒙特州、南達科他州、紐約州、加利福尼亞州和新墨西哥州。但還有20個州的最低工資仍為時薪7.25美元。

Despite some states increasing their minimum wage, Cooper says that real change will only be seen once it happens at the federal level, adding that a low wage floor affects more people than just those earning the minimum.
庫珀稱，盡管一些州提高了最低工資，但只有聯邦政府采取行動才會發生真正的變化。他補充說，最低工資水平影響的不僅僅是最低收入者。

“It is also damaging for people who are a little further up the wage ladder and earning $3 or $4 more than the minimum,” he says. “If that wage floor had been raised more regularly over the course of the last 20 to 30 years, those folks would be earning a lot more today than they currently are.”
他表示：“那些工資更高、時薪比最低工資高3到4美元的人也會受到影響。如果在過去的20到30年里，最低工資經常上調，那么這些人今天的收入將比現在多得多?！?/p>

來源：CNBC
編輯：董靜