# What would happen if we reduced the minimum wage in the US?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 26, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244 "2011-08-26T23:42:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 28

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/28 "2011-08-27T20:23:51Z")

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I posted this before in another thread. In order to answer the OP, we need to know who earns minimum wage. I can’t find any recent stats.

> [@Is it reasonable for an employee to expect a living wage?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-reasonable-for-an-employee-to-expect-a-living-wage/592348/87):
>
> Does anyone know if the stats for “[who earns minimum wage?](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=who+earns+minimum+wage)” have changed much in the recent downturn? Last I checked, only a couple percent of workers earned federal minimum wage, and \>50% of minimum wage (or less) earners were under 25. “Minimum wage or less” includes folks who might actually make more than minimum wage after tips are included.

You can currently get by on minimum wage if you can find enough work (\>$25k at 70h/week and 50 weeks/year). I don’t think you can do that on 1/2 minimum wage without public assistance. However, it appears that very few people out there are supporting themselves on just one (federal) minimum wage income.

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