You can't legislate a good economy

Mr. Daugharty (Letters, Oct. 17) clearly needs help interpreting history (and economics). Indeed the passage of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was necessary at the time — it established minimum wages at 25 cents an hour.

Adjusted for inflation in 2018 that same wage would be $4.45/hour — hardly the $12/hour in Washington State, already set to go up to $13.50 in January, 2020. That’s effectively trying to compare today’s minimum wage scenario to paying 75 cents/hour in 1938, which clearly did not happen.

As well, Washington has the highest minimum wages across the nation, excluding Wa...