Graph of Minimum Wage Function
By Thuy Nguyen
The following is a table containing the data of the national minimum wage from 1938 to 2009. The first column is the year and the second column is the minimum wage.
|
1938 |
$0.25 |
|
1939 |
$0.30 |
|
1945 |
$0.40 |
|
1950 |
$0.75 |
|
1956 |
$1.00 |
|
1961 |
$1.15 |
|
1963 |
$1.25 |
|
1967 |
$1.40 |
|
1968 |
$1.60 |
|
1974 |
$2.00 |
|
1975 |
$2.10 |
|
1976 |
$2.30 |
|
1978 |
$2.65 |
|
1979 |
$2.90 |
|
1980 |
$3.10 |
|
1981 |
$3.35 |
|
1990 |
$3.80 |
|
1991 |
$4.25 |
|
1996 |
$4.75 |
|
1997 |
$5.15 |
|
2007 |
$5.85 |
|
2008 |
$6.55 |
|
2009 |
$7.25 |
Let 1938 = 1, 1939 = 2, 1945 = 8, etc. We now have
|
1 |
$0.25 |
|
2 |
$0.30 |
|
8 |
$0.40 |
|
13 |
$0.75 |
|
19 |
$1.00 |
|
24 |
$1.15 |
|
26 |
$1.25 |
|
30 |
$1.40 |
|
31 |
$1.60 |
|
37 |
$2.00 |
|
38 |
$2.10 |
|
39 |
$2.30 |
|
41 |
$2.65 |
|
42 |
$2.90 |
|
43 |
$3.10 |
|
44 |
$3.35 |
|
53 |
$3.80 |
|
54 |
$4.25 |
|
59 |
$4.75 |
|
60 |
$5.15 |
|
70 |
$5.85 |
|
71 |
$6.55 |
|
72 |
$7.25 |
We can now generate a graph for the minimum wage function f(t) with t = number of years since 1937. That is, t = 1 for 1938.
