70-year-low: Federal minimum wage nears rock bottom

A woman working the cash register at a fast food restaurant (Credit: Jeff Greenberg)

The federal minimum wage has not risen from $7.25 for 15 years. That run extends the longest such streak since the federal minimum wage was implemented in 1938. 

However, because of inflation and changes in the cost-of-living, the federal minimum wage is worth far less now than at any point since 1949.