&gt; Effective minimum wage(that is, min. wage adjusted for inflation) has been slowly declining for decades. Minimum wage isn&#x27;t getting higher, it&#x27;s getting slowly lower.<p>This is simply not true.<p>Minimum wage was introduced in 1938, and was for a whopping $0.25 per hour. This is about $4.22 per hour in 2016 dollars. Federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25.  Some states have even higher minimum wages, with California coming in at $10.00 (soon to coast up to $15.00 per hour in the next few years).<p>So no, the purchasing power of minimum wage is not getting lower, quite the opposite.