Episode 510: The Birth of the Minimum Wage

Published February 11, 2015 at 6:34 PM EST

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Note: Today's show is a rerun. It originally ran in January 2014.

For most of U.S. history, there was no minimum wage. A few times, politicians passed laws tiptoeing toward a minimum. But the Supreme Court struck those laws down.

On today's show: how the U.S. finally got a minimum wage. It's a story of exploding bakeries, a blue eagle, and a guy who may or may not have been drunk.

For more:

Two economists look at fast food restaurants to see the effects of the minimum wage:

A mall that straddles two cities: one end of the mall has one minimum wage, the other has a different minimum.

Music: The Title Sequence's "Payday." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Spotify/ Tumblr.