What the debate over raising the federal minimum wage to $15 tells us about US politics and society

Joe Biden’s America Rescue Plan Act was recently passed by Congress, but without the provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. Jeannette Wicks-Lim argues that the politics around increasing the federal minimum wage provide a near-perfect microcosm of wider US politics, including a clear articulation of the country’s social hierarchy. She reminds us that current minimum wage policies, including the tip-credit, disproportionately affect women, and especially Black women. Despite a majority of voters supporting raising the federal minimum, she writes, partisanship and lobbying means that Congressional action is unlikely.