The minimum wage in the United States is not a livable wage. While a few states have raised the minimum wage, most states still follow the national law which sets that wage at $7.25 an hour. That wage forces a worker to live in poverty -- especially those trying to support a family (or a single parent with children).
This is an abominable tragedy. No one willing to work hard for 40 hours a week should be forced to live in poverty just because their employer refuses to pay a decent wage.
Frankly, I haven't heard nearly enough about this critical issue in the current campaign. I know Republicans are opposed to raising the minimum wage (and some would like to abolish it altogether), but Democrats should be campaigning loudly about this. Raising the minimum wage to a livable level ($15 an hour) would be not only the decent thing to do, but also the economically smart thing to do.
It would be a huge boost to the economy, would help businesses (who would reap the benefits of that new money in the economy), and would put upward pressure on the wages of all workers.
And the registered voters in this country are in favor of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour -- a significant majority of 58% (while only 30% oppose it). The chart above shows how registered voters think.
That chart reflects the results of a new Yahoo! / YouGov Poll -- done on February 12th and 13th of 1,530 register voters nationwide. The margin of error would be about 3 points.
