The American South and Minimum Wages

The above is from a map American minimum wage laws at the US dept of Labor. The colors are for the relative level of each states minimum wage law compared to the US federal rate. Green is for states the have higher rates, blue is for the states that use the federal rate, yellow is for those states that have a minimum wage lower than the federal and red is for those states without a minimum wage law. I found this page because I was watching a video post at Boingboing about the struggles that Disney employees have, Walt Disney World castmembers speak about their search for a living wage.

What is striking is how many off US states that formed the Old Confederacy are still not, even 150 years after they fought a war over it, that keen on paying people who work for them.