The Peorian, July 10, 2014
Small business owners strongly favor raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and adjusting it to keep up with the cost of living in future years, according to a scientific national opinion poll released Thursday. Small business owners are considerably less partisan than Congress in weighing the issue. The federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 since it was last increased five years ago in July, 2009.
A striking 61% of small business employers support increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 in three stages over two and a half years, and then adjusting it annually to keep pace with the cost of living. This finding is higher than reported in previous small business polling, indicating growing support among small business owners for a $10.10 minimum wage.
Small business owners believe a higher minimum wage would benefit business in important ways: 58% say raising the minimum wage would increase consumer purchasing power; 56% say it would help the economy, and 53% agree that with a higher minimum wage, businesses would benefit from lower employee turnover and increased productivity and customer satisfaction. ...