There is one simple thing Congress can do to make gas, groceries, housing, and healthcare more affordable. It wouldn't cost a single penny. It would decrease spending and increase revenue without increasing anyone's taxes. It would directly improve the lives of 40 million Americans and improve the economy for everyone else. Why doesn't Congress do it? Because giant, wealthy corporations that spend billions on elections, lobbying, and influencing the public don't want to lose their nice taxpayer subsidies. That one thing is raising the federal minimum wage. In 1968, the buying power of the federal minimum wage peaked at a level where one full-time minimum-wage job was enough to keep a family of three out of poverty. Today, it has fallen to a level that is a poverty wage for a single adult in any state in the nation. Raising the federal minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2030 would reduce federal spending by $100 billion each year and increase revenue by almost $70 billion. It would cause 40 million Americans to get a raise, with the average being $8,000. And it would have a negligible effect on jobs and prices. We've seen this play out with minimum wage increases around the country for decades. We've seen it in action when the minimum wage peaked, and not only was the economy robust, with an unemployment rate lower than today, but the middle class was the strongest it has ever been. Despite decades of real-world data, numerous studies, and a history showing it works, many who read this still won't believe it. Because corporations have spent the last 50 years spreading propaganda that raising the minimum wage somehow hurts you, so they can keep making record profits while paying their workers so little that they have to rely on assistance programs to survive. It is time to raise the federal minimum wage.