By Carolyn M. Brown
Black Enterprise, November 9, 2016

After an extremely divisive election and close presidential race, the final winner was Republican candidate Donald Trump. ... How will the policies of his administration affect America’s 28.7 million small businesses? There are critical issues around how small businesses will fare in relation to minimum wage, taxes, healthcare, trade policy as well as other important economic factors.

Minimum Wage Is A Ballot Winner

The minimum wage was a winner this election in four states. Voters supported ballot initiatives gradually raising Arizona, Colorado, and Maine’s minimum wages to $12...

By Wayne Heilman 
Colorado Springs Gazette, November 9, 2016

Colorado Springs business owners praised and panned a minimum-wage increase approved Tuesday by Colorado voters ...

"I thought it was very important to increase the minimum wage since it was almost even with the poverty-level wage in 1969 and for the last 10 years has been averaging about 60 percent of the poverty-level wage," said John Crandall, owner of the Old Town Bike Shop in downtown Colorado Springs. "If it had been $15 instead of the $12 an hour, I would not have supported it. But...

By Eliza Carter 
Colorado Independent, November 09, 2016

Voters have decided it’s time to give Colorado’s minimum-wage workers a long-overdue raise. ...

In a crowded, jubilant second-floor conference room at the Westin Downtown, a group of minimum wage earners, business owners and advocates celebrated.

“Amendment is going to help our local economy,” said Edwin Zoe, proprietor of restaurant Zoe Ma Ma. “When low income workers do well, we all do well.” ...

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By Stephen Feller
UPI, Nov. 9, 2016 

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Voters in four states gave themselves a raise Tuesday, approving initiatives to raise the minimum wage to at least $12 by 2020 -- an increase of more than $4 per hour for employees in some states. ...

The wage increase will help people who "work two or three jobs and have almost no family life," Judy Clinco, the chief executive of Catalina In-Home Services and employer of lower-wage home healthcare workers, told The Wall Street Journal. "The increase will allow them to advance themselves." ...

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By Holly Sklar
Entrepreur, Nov 8, 2016

Today, voters in four states will decide on minimum-wage initiatives calling for an increase, by 2020, to either $12 (Arizona, Colorado and Maine) or $13.50 (Washington State). And, contrary to popular perception, plenty of small-business leaders -- of household names like Ben & Jerry's and Wetzel's Pretzels, to Main Street mom-and-pops -- are backing those increases. They're saying that higher wages will be good for businesses, customers and the economy. ...

Along with these political moves, our own organization, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, has been active on the...

By Angela Gonzales
Phoenix Business Journal, Nov 8, 2016

Arizonans handily approved Proposition 206 Tuesday night, which will see the state's minimum wage rise to $12 an hour by 2020, according to early election results. ...

Judy Clinco, founder and CEO of Catalina In-Home Services in Tucson, said it's expensive and time consuming to replace employees and train new ones. Now, she said, businesses can save time and money by improving staff retention and job performance, while at the same time improving the lives of Arizonans.

Clinco was among more than 1,000 business owners, executives...

By Katie Pelton
KKTV11, Colorado Springs, Nov 08, 2016

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - It looks like we will be raising our state’s minimum wage. ...

Business owners 11 News spoke with ahead of the election were split over whether minimum wage workers should see bigger paychecks. ...

Taking the opposite position, the owner of Old Town Bike Shop, John Crandall, said that while he would have to cut costs, it would be worth it for his employees. ...

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By Ed Sealover
Denver Business Journal, Nov 8, 2016

Colorado’s minimum wage is rising significantly once again. The state's voters on Tuesday approved Amendment 70, which would jump the floor wage for any non-tipped worker in the state from $8.31 per hour to $12 an hour in three steps by 2020. ...

Backers argued that the cost of living has outstripped the ability of minimum-wage workers to afford food, rent and medical care in Colorado and said that increasing their pay levels will boost all of the economy through increased spending of those workers....

By Kristen Doerer
PBS News Hour, November 7, 2016

... Colorado, Arizona and Maine have measures on the ballot that would gradually increase the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. In Washington, the initiative would phase in a $13.50 minimum wage by 2020. South Dakota is voting on a measure that would decrease the state’s minimum wage for workers under the age of 18. ...

Despite continued opposition from some conservatives, polls show there is growing support among businesses and Republican leaders for raising the minimum wage.

Edwin Zoe, a Republican and the...

By Kate Rogers
CNBC, Nov 4, 2016

Workers in four states may be getting a raise post-Election Day, with initiatives to raise the minimum wage heading to a vote. Arizona, Colorado and Maine all have ballot measures to hike local wages to $12 an hour, while Washington State voters will consider [$13.50] an hour. All increases are to be phased in gradually by the year 2020. ...

In Boulder, Colorado, Judy Amabile, owner of Product Architects, Inc., said she's supporting the ballot initiative to hike wages to $12 an hour by 2020 from the state's current...

Robb Mandelbaum
Forbes, Nov 4, 2016

Richard Warner expects good things to happen at his two Bingo Burger restaurants if, as polls suggest, Coloradans vote next week to increase the state’s minimum wage. The measure would give the lowest-paid workers a raise from $8.31 on December 31 to $9.30 on January 1, and then an annual 90-cent bump until the minimum reaches $12 in 2020. Wagner already starts his employees in the $9.50 to $10 range — anything less tends to attract novice workers and “you can’t run a restaurant correctly if you have too many...

By Patricia Cohen
New York Times, Nov 4, 2016

The government, delivering the last major snapshot of the economy before Election Day, reported on Friday that employers added 161,000 workers in October, a performance that suggested a healthy outlook for the months ahead. The official unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 percent, from 5 percent. And average hourly earnings rose 2.8 percent year over year, a level not reached since 2008. ...

“It has been tough to hire good people,” ... said Scott Nash, the founder and chief executive of Mom’s Organic Market, which operates 17...

By Kalie Greenberg 
KKCO NBC11 News, Nov 4, 2016

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO)-- More than 300 Colorado businesses have decided to show public support for Amendment 70, which would increase the minimum wage.

"I believe your employees are the ones that get you to the dance. You've got to take care of them," said Bruce Benge, owner of Benge’s Shoes. "You’ve got to supply them with a decent wage and do as much for them as you can."

If passed, Amendment 70 would raise the minimum wage in intervals from $8.31 to $12 dollars an hour by...

Op-Ed By Edwin Zoe, Owner, Zoe Ma Ma Restaurants

Raising the minimum wage will reward work, encourage self-reliance, and strengthen the free market by expecting businesses to compete fairly and not count on taxpayers to subsidize them. ... It's good business and good government. ...

Op-Ed By Richard Warner
Pueblo Chieftain, Nov 1, 2016

I started my business to give people something different. We put a lot of care into creating a unique burger made with local ingredients that, I’m happy to say, customers love. Our employees are central to that experience.

Treating people with respect and paying them starting wages they can live on is not just the right thing to do — it’s good for my business and good for Colorado. That’s why I support Amendment 70 to gradually raise our state’s minimum wage to $12 by 2020...