In 2018, many unskilled workers in the United States earned the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. By contrast, average earnings in 2018 were about $27 per hour, and certain highly skilled professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, earned $100 or more per hour.

a. If we assume that wage differences are caused solely by differences in productivity, how many times more productive was the average worker than a worker being paid the federal minimum wage? How many times more productive was a $100-per-hour lawyer compared to a worker earning minimum wage?

b. Assume that there are 20 minimum-wage workers in the economy for each $100-per-hour lawyer. Also, assume that both lawyers and minimum-wage workers work the same number of hours per week. If everyone works 40 hours per week, how much does a $100-per-hour lawyer earn a week? How much does a minimum-wage worker earn in a week?

c. Suppose that the government pairs each $100-per-hour lawyer with 20 nearby minimum-wage workers. If the government taxes 25 percent of each lawyer’s income each week and distributes it equally among the 20 minimum-wage workers with whom each lawyer is paired, how much will each of those minimum-wage workers receive each week? If we divide by the number of hours worked each week, how much does each minimum-wage worker’s weekly transfer amount to on an hourly basis?

d. Suppose the government taxes each lawyer 100 percent before dividing the money equally among the 20 minimum-wage workers with whom each lawyer is paired. How much per week will each minimum-wage worker receive? And how much is that on an hourly basis?