The federal minimum wage has basically become an outdated relic: It last went up to $7.25 on July 24, 2009 — 15 years ago.

Why it matters: Though very few people actually earn $7.25 an hour, the federal standard has ripple effects for all hourly workers — helping to keep pay low for millions.

The big picture: Look at the chart. In inflation-adjusted terms, the federal minimum wage is worth less now than at any time since 1949.

• Still, workers have managed to get raises without the federal standard moving. In recent years as the labor market has been tight, employers have been forced to pay more for hourly workers and an increasing number of states have set higher wage floors.

Stunning stat: The number of workers earning $7.25 or less fell by nearly half over the past four years, to 869,000 in 2023 from 1.6 million in 2019, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• Overall, the number of low-wage U.S. workers has decreased.
• Last year, only 81,000 workers earned exactly $7.25 an hour, and 789,000 made less than that (many of them tipped workers who earn a different lower minimum wage).

Do we even need a federal minimum wage? Yes, says Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "Any increase in the minimum wage is going to sweep up millions of workers."

• About 17 million people are earning less than $15 an hour, according to EPI's low-wage workforce tracker. Raising the wage floor to $15 would give all of them a pay boost.
• Plus, a wage rise might also push up pay for those earning more than the minimum. Say, for a manager earning $15 an hour who oversees those making $7.25.

The bottom line: Inflation and inaction have eaten away at the federal minimum wage, to the point where very few Americans are paid at that rate — yet increasing the wage floor would raise the pay of millions of workers.

Because more women tend to work in low-wage fields, more than twice as many earn the federal minimum wage than men.

• 600,000 women earn $7.25 or less, compared to 270,000 men.

The bottom line: If the federal minimum wage was raised, women (and people of color, who are also disproportionately represented in the low-wage workforce) would see the largest wage increases.

• "By not raising the minimum wage, we are keeping their wages low," says Zipperer of EPI.

The world's bond investors are continuing to finance the green transition at record rates: Issuance of green bonds — bonds whose proceeds are invested solely in sustainable projects — hit new highs in the first half of 2024.

Why it matters: For the world to meet its Paris Agreement goals, the UN estimates it needs to invest more than $3 trillion per year. Much if not most of that will have to come from the private sector, specifically from bond investors.

Follow the money: 2021 was the year that green bond issuance really exploded, with more than $1 trillion of green, social, and sustainability bonds issued in total, including a breakthrough €12 billion bond from the European Union.

• European investors still dominate the market, but issuers are truly international.
• Japan issued more than $12 billion of bonds in the first half of 2024, and just this week Masdar, Abu Dhabi's green energy company, issued its second green bond, for $1 billion.

Between the lines: Most G7 countries have issued many green bonds. Italy had the largest green bond of the year so far, with a €9 billion issuance in May. France, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the U.K. also participated in the market.

• The U.S. is the outlier, with zero green bond issuance to date.

What we're watching: Green bonds received a thumbs-up from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee, a group of investors who buy Treasury bonds.

• Whether that will manifest in actual bond issuance, however, remains to be seen.