
Minimum wage would be $26 an hour if it had grown in line with productivity
CBSN
The federal minimum wage in the U.S. has remained glued at $7.25 an hour for the last 12 years, the longest stretch without a boost since it was first adopted in 1938. Yet there's another revealing figure that underscores how the minimum wage — created by Congress after the Great Depression as a way to ensure that Americans were fairly paid for their labor — has failed to keep up with the times.
Even as workers have been more industrious — helping drive corporate profits, the stock market and CEO compensation to record heights — their pay has flatlined, or even declined when factoring in inflation. If the minimum wage had kept pace with gains in the economy's productivity over the last 50 years, it would be nearly $26 an hour today, or more than $50,000 a year in annual income, one economist notes. "That may sound pretty crazy, but that's roughly what the minimum wage would be today if it had kept pace with productivity growth since its value peaked in 1968," wrote Dean Baker, senior economist at the left-leaning Center for Economic and Policy Research, in a recent blog post.
As federal policies and staffing levels rapidly change in the name of government efficiency and energy independence, historical sites across the United States — sites that help the public understand the cultures that came before them and built their communities of today — are in jeopardy of losing out on important federal protections. "National Park Service employees are deeply committed to preserving our public lands and serving visitors. At times, team members may step into a range of responsibilities outside their usual scope to help ensure continued access, safety, and stewardship across the park system. This flexibility reflects the dedication and collaborative spirit of our workforce.

Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' visionary and fragile leader whose genius for melody, arrangements and wide-eyed self-expression inspired "Good Vibrations," "California Girls" and other summertime anthems and made him one of the world's most influential recording artists, has died, his family said in a statement posted to his website and social media. He was 82.