, Columnist
How the Black Death Spawned the Minimum Wage
The ancient and curious origins of the living wage.
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Fast-food joints, long inhospitable to any kind of labor activism, are suddenly beset by a surge in strikes. Over the past few months, workers at chains such as McDonalds Corp. have walked off the job in more than 60 cities, demanding a "living wage" of $15 an hour. Regardless of whether the strikes lead to better pay, they have rekindled debate over what constitutes a living wage.
That debate, however, has stranger, older and more curious origins than either proponents or detractors of the living wage might imagine.