--- title: Politicians Try Living on Minimum Wage description: Tim Ryan, Ted Strickland and Jan Schakowsky took part in #LiveTheWage challenge canonical: https://time.com/3049371/politicians-minimum-wage/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-29T00:43:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:01:01.187Z article:section: Politics og:title: Politicians Try Living on Minimum Wage og:description: Tim Ryan, Ted Strickland and Jan Schakowsky took part in #LiveTheWage challenge og:url: https://time.com/3049371/politicians-minimum-wage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a3a6325c4c892bf/69869d941eebf70a133720c2/111667423.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Politicians Try Living on Minimum Wage twitter:description: Tim Ryan, Ted Strickland and Jan Schakowsky took part in #LiveTheWage challenge twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a3a6325c4c892bf/69869d941eebf70a133720c2/111667423.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Politicians Give Living on Minimum Wage a Whirl > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cf4bec9d-bea6-451b-b4eb-bdabadaaafa1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A History Of The Minimum Wage [Watch (HLS stream): A History Of The Minimum Wage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KFNoRaXc.m3u8) (3:56)  _Published 2014-02-28. See who raised the minimum wage and when throughout history._  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jul 29, 2014 12:43 AM UTC  Ted Strickland, former Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland, former Governor of Ohio Jin Lee—Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Jul 29, 2014 12:43 AM UTC Former Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland said in Sunday op-ed that he [tried and failed to live on the minimum wage last week](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/a-mile-in-shoes-of-the-minimum-wage-worker-109418.html#ixzz38oC8cFyZ) as a part of the [#LiveTheWage](http://www.livethewage.com/) challenge. “Washington is in a bubble that keeps our representatives away from the experiences of those they actually represent,” Strickland wrote in _Politico Magazine_. “We need to understand the challenges faced by Americans who are being left behind in our economy.” He wasn’t the only politician trying to understand the setbacks faced by low-earning workers. U.S. representatives Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) also took part in the challenge, which asks participants to live on only $77 a week — the typical amount of money an employee relying on the current $7.25 minimum wage can put toward all their expenses, not counting utilities and rent. Ryan and Schakowsky began the challenge last Thursday, which was the fifth anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase, [ABC News reports](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/07/members-of-congress-plan-to-live-on-minimum-wage-for-a-week/). Both reps support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. “So far I have lost some weight, which is not bad for me, but must be tough for low wage workers all over the country,” [tweeted](https://twitter.com/janschakowsky/status/493814821004247040) [Schakowsky](https://twitter.com/janschakowsky/status/493815921946140672). “#LiveTheWage just gives me a glimpse into the life of a low wage worker. Point is $7.25 isn’t enough to live on.” At an event Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn agreed to Schakowsky’s request to that he, too, live on the minimum wage, in advance of a ballot measure in Illinois on Nov. 4 to raise its minimum wage to $10 in 2015, [the Associated Press reports](http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/07/27/gov-quinn-to-live-off-equivalent-of-minimum-wage/). ## Transcript >> In 1938, the very first federal minimum wage was set at $ 0. 25 cents an hour when Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act. The wage is not tied to the rate of inflation, so it only goes up through congressional action. Twenty- two times since 1938, Congress and the President have worked together to raise it. Here's a look at when the wages have gone up over time. Keep an eye on the number in blue, which shows you how much that amount would be worth in today's dollars. -[ Music Playing ] [ Music Playing ] [ Music Playing ] [ Music Playing ] [ Music Playing ] [ Music Playing ] >> At its peak, the minimum wage in 1968 was worth $ 10. 75 in today's dollars, but the purchasing power that goes with it has not kept up. So, if you earn minimum wage in the 1960s, it was enough to fill up your basket with a week's groceries. 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