Commentary: Mia Aassar and Nat Kendall-Taylor - Don't give up on minimum wage fight Mia Aassar and Nat Kendall-Taylor April 23, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail With both the American Rescue Plan and the introduction of a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, President Biden has launched himself to FDR status within the first three months of his presidency. But if the Biden administration wants to give teeth to its “good-paying jobs” promise, it will include a higher minimum wage in the initiative. Given a unique cultural period, sparked by the pandemic, the country should act fast to secure this win for working Americans. As social scientists, we’ve noticed a change in how our cognitive biases are working. Since the pandemic’s onset, Americans’ biases have started shifting from doing what’s best for ourselves – hoarding peanut butter, skipping masks – to considering others’ needs in our decision-making. Mask-wearing, for example, jumped a full 20% between June and August, by both liberals and conservatives, young and old. By October, 90% wore masks. True, some held out, saying it was “their American right” not to, but at least 60% have reported wearing masks for the purpose of protecting themselves and others. The majority of us seem to have arrived at a deeper sense of community.