It's not just inflation. Wages are falling behind too : NPR

The Brookings affordability report found nearly 38 million households would be able to get by if workers' wages rose by $10 per hour. But that's a tall order in a nation where the federal minimum wage has been frozen at $7.25 an hour since 2009...

 https://www.npr.org/2026/05/28/nx-s1-5836525/affordability-report-brookings-inflation-wages