The national minimum wage crisis could be solved in one fell swoop (law) that encompasses the following:
1. Minimum wage hike to ~$15
2. Same COLAs as federal workers, Social Security, etc.
3.
Locality pay adjustments (higher pay in areas with higher costs of living)
Since the fed already keeps tabs on higher costs of living in different areas, there's no need to reinvent the wheel for minimum wage; just use the same data. Raising the federal minimum wage this way costs the fed practically nothing and can be done super fast.
Yeah, but Republicans....