Imagine your boss doubled your pay tomorrow. Henry Ford did exactly that to his factory workers on January 5, 1914. The New York Times' financial editor walked into his newsroom and asked if Ford had lost his mind. It built the American middle class.Before Ford's announcement, the auto industry paid roughly $2.34 a day for nine hours of work. Ford bumped his minimum to $5 for an eight-hour shift. More than double the pay for one less hour of work, and no factory in America had ever paid that kin