By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams, July 24, 2024
Former U.S. President Barack Obama had been in office for just over six months when the federal minimum wage was raised to a paltry $7.25 an hour—where it remains today, 15 years later. ...
Some lawmakers at the federal level have pushed, without success, for legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage. Last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) introduced a bill that would incrementally hike the national wage floor to $17 an hour by 2028 and index it to median wages in subsequent years. ... According to the Economic Policy Institute, 31 million U.S. workers are paid less than $17 an hour.
"The minimum wage has fallen so far behind the cost of living that millions of workers are earning wages too low to live on at the minimum wage and above it," Holly Sklar, CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement. "That's bad for workers and businesses."
"Local businesses depend on customers who make enough to buy their products and services," Sklar added. "Raising the minimum wage boosts consumer spending and helps businesses hire and retain employees. Businesses that are more invested in their employees benefit from lower turnover and increased productivity, and the kind of customer service that keeps customers coming back."