--- title: #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage | TIME description: San Francisco and Oakland voted Tuesday to increase their minimum wages, and so did four states that roundly backed Republicans. canonical: https://time.com/video/7M25t9dT/ og:title: #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage og:description: San Francisco and Oakland voted Tuesday to increase their minimum wages, and so did four states that roundly backed Republicans. og:url: https://time.com/video/7M25t9dT/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7M25t9dT/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage twitter:description: San Francisco and Oakland voted Tuesday to increase their minimum wages, and so did four states that roundly backed Republicans. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/7M25t9dT/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage [Watch (HLS stream): #TheBrief: Why Even Red States Want a Higher Minimum Wage](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7M25t9dT.m3u8) (1:46)  _Published 2014-11-06. San Francisco and Oakland voted Tuesday to increase their minimum wages, and so did four states that roundly backed Republicans._ --- Jul 27, 2023 5:29 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [At Least 2 Republicans Actually Want A Higher Minimum Wage](/video/vlUOE0yb/) ### At Least 2 Republicans Actually Want A Higher Minimum Wage [Massachusetts Set For Highest State Minimum Wage In U.S.](/video/nERDNV4E/) ### Massachusetts Set For Highest State Minimum Wage In U.S. [A History Of The Minimum Wage](/video/KFNoRaXc/) ### A History Of The Minimum Wage --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] San Francisco and Oakland just voted to increase their minimum wages. But so did four states that roundly back Republicans. Is paying workers more one issue we can all agree on? I'm Ben Goldberger, and this is your brief. FDR installed the first hourly minimum wage in 1938 to help families through the Great Depression. It increased at various rates in the following decades until 1981 when Reagan vetoed any raises until 1990. All the while, inflation increased and the cost of living went up, Meaning the real value of the minimum wage plummeted. As Elizabeth Warren is fond of noting, had the minimum wage been tied to worker productivity, it would now be $ 22 an hour. But it's actually $ 7. 25, and that hasn't gone up since 2009. We can't feed our families, we can't feed no one off $ 8. 25 an hour. No fees! No taxes! Yet Washington has been loath to deal with it. That's why people have been clamoring to raise their local and state minimums. Oakland and San Francisco just adopted two of the highest wage floors in the nation. But they are also 2 of the most expensive cities to live in. According to the national low income housing coalition, a worker in San Francisco would have to make almost $ 30. 00 an hour, just to afford a one bedroom apartment. But those are deep blue cities, what accounts for the republican states backing what has long been a democratic cause? It turns out that raising the minimum wage has support across party lines. Odds. According to one recent poll, nearly 70 % of American's back [ UNKNOWN ]. That's why 14 states have enacted higher wage [ UNKNOWN ] just over the last year and it may finally be enough to convince Washington to federal minimum. Don't hold your breath. I'm Ben Goldburger and you've been briefed. 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