Eighty-seven years ago today, on June 25, 1938 (May 28, 1938 in the lunar calendar), the United States set the minimum hourly wage at 40 cents. On June 25, 1938, President Roosevelt of the United States signed the Reasonable Labor Standards Act. This law stipulates that the minimum wage per hour is 40 cents, and the workload shall not exceed 44 hours per week. This new regulation only applies to American enterprises engaged in interstate trade activities. Five days ago, Roosevelt also signed the unemployment benefits law, which allocated $3.7 billion to employable but unemployed workers to stimulate the development of industry and commerce. At the signing ceremony held at Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, new york, he optimistically predicted that national income would rise from the original estimate of 5 billion dollars to 6 billion dollars. He refused to say when this upsurge began, but used an analogy: "A few drops of rain in the air may be followed by a timely rain." The bills were signed to uphold many principles of New Deal policies: economic and social welfare development must keep pace, and federal agencies must keep pace with state agencies. Roosevelt also emphasized that every male or female worker employed in a public project. By employing 2.5 workers in a private enterprise, the New Deal "started the pump of private industry".