By Kent Hoover
American City Business Journals, Nov 5, 2014

Voters in state elections did everything from raise the minimum wage to legalize marijuana on Election Day. Here are three developments that are particularly relevant to business:

Most states now have minimum wages higher than the federal rate

Even as Republicans gained complete control of Congress, a Democratic issue — raising the minimum wage — was a winner in four Republican states. Voters in Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Alaska approved ballot measures increasing the minimum wage in their states. This brings the number of...

Paychex, November 04, 2014

... How might raising the minimum wage affect small-business owners?

The effect on small businesses of a higher minimum wage is uncertain, but opinions abound. The Department of Labor has posted “Minimum Wage Mythbusters” that answer 17 commonly held but erroneous beliefs about the minimum wage, including: Increasing the minimum wage will cause people to lose their jobs; and Increasing the minimum wage is bad for businesses.

It’s worth noting results of a poll by the American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, released July 2014, which found that 61...

Health care, minimum wage and the economy on owners’ minds this week

By J.D. Harrison
The Washington Post, Nov 3, 2014

Small business owners represent a particularly active and influential chunk of the electorate, and as they head to the polls this week, they have plenty to consider—the state of the economy, new and looming regulations and legislative initiatives, and the overall political landscape in Washington.

So what will be front and center on their minds when they vote? ...

Elizabeth Valleau, co-owner and chief executive of Empire Mayonnaise Co. in Brooklyn, N.Y.:

“I want lawmakers...

By Rick Poore and Holly Sklar
Omaha World Herald, Letter to the Editor, November 1, 2014. For Full Op-Ed Version in Columbus Telegram and other papers click here

Businesses depend on customers who can afford to buy what they are selling. When a growing number of workers can’t make ends meet because their wages have not kept up with the cost of living, it hurts businesses and it hurts Nebraska.

The minimum wage has been stuck since 2009 at $7.25 an hour, just $15,080 a year for full-time work. It’s common to see workers and...

Op-Ed By Rick Poore & Holly Sklar

Businesses depend on customers who can afford to buy what they are selling. When a growing number of workers can’t make ends meet because their wages have not kept up with the cost of living, it hurts businesses and it hurts Nebraska. Nebraskans can change this. ... Voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois and South Dakota will also be considering minimum wage increases...

By Joyce Rosenberg

Associated Press (AP), October 29, 2014

Workers in five states could get a raise after Election Day. Some small business owners say raising the minimum wage will pressure their companies, forcing them to cut employees' hours or jobs. Others say it's the right thing to do for workers and the economy.

Minimum wage referendums are on Tuesday's ballots in Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota, where minimums range from $6.25 to $8.25 an hour. ...

Seasonal workers at Rick Poore's Lincoln, Nebraska screen printing and embroidery company earn the minimum wage. Tuesday's...

By Sarah Ellis
The State, October 22, 2014

COLUMBIA, SC — To rent an average one-bedroom apartment with utilities affordably in the Columbia metro area, a person would have to earn more than $12 an hour in a 40-hour work week or work 70 hours a week earning minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. ...

“It obviously reflects that it’s very difficult to live on minimum wage, whether you’re an individual or family,” said Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, which advocates raising the federal minimum wage...

By Jeryl Bier
The Weekly Standard, Oct 21, 2014

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have made increasing the federal minimum wage one of their marquee issues during campaign appearances leading up to the 2014 elections. After pushing for an increase to $9.00/hour up through 2013, the president moved the bar up to $10.10/hour in his 2014 State of the Union Address. Now, on Monday, the White House enlisted Paul Saginaw, the co-founder of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the cause. According to Saginaw, "the right to conduct business is earned by being...

By Paul Saginaw
White House Blog, October 20. 2014

My partner, Ari Weinzweig, and I never subscribed to the conservative economic theory of Milton Friedman, that “the business of business is business.” To us, the right to conduct business is earned by being a good corporate citizen — by producing products and delivering services responsibly, hiring responsibly, generating profits responsibly, and finally, sharing profits with those who help produce them and with the wider community from which the revenues are drawn.

For more than three decades, our successful businesses have been profitable but never by...

By Ross Eisenbrey
Working Economics Blog, Economic Policy Institute, October 20, 2014

The last barricades in the right wing’s fight to prevent increases in the minimum wage are starting to fall, as even the businesses that minimum wage opponents are supposedly protecting from having to pay a decent wage are saying, “Enough! It’s time to raise the minimum wage.”

The American Sustainable Business Council and Business for a Fair Minimum Wage conducted a national phone poll of 555 small business employers and found support for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in every region...

By Frank Knapp Jr.
Work in Progress Blog, US Department of Labor, Oct 15, 2014. Also in National Law Review, Oct 20, 2014

The biggest problem facing small businesses is the lack of demand for their goods and services. If the Great Recession is technically over and Wall Street is booming, why haven’t small businesses seen a real increase in consumer demand? There’s a simple answer: consumers who are or could be shopping on Main Street don’t have the buying power they used to have.

In my state, per capita income has fallen by nearly...

By Kate Rogers
CNBC, October 7, 2014

... Four states have proposals on their ballots to raise the minimum wage beyond the federal, hourly rate of $7.25—Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. Notice a trend? All four are red states, and voter-approved wage gains in those predominantly Republican states could bolster the push for higher living wages ...

While minimum wage often is perceived as a liberal issue, there's support for the cause across party lines nationwide, said Holly Sklar, director of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national group.

"Among the American public generally...

By Kate Rogers, CNBC
Huffington Post, October 7, 2014

... Four states have proposals on their ballots to raise the minimum wage beyond the federal, hourly rate of $7.25—Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota. Notice a trend? All four are red states, and voter-approved wage gains in those predominantly Republican states could bolster the push for higher living wages ...

While minimum wage often is perceived as a liberal issue, there's support for the cause across party lines nationwide, said Holly Sklar, director of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, a national group.

"Among the American...

By Lew Prince
White House Blog, October 6, 2014

My life is a tribute to the American Dream. My business partner and I started with 300 record albums and a $20 booth at the local farmers market in 1979. Today, Vintage Vinyl is the largest independent music store in the Midwest. We stage 150 in-store concerts a year and are known internationally for recorded music in all forms.

Read more at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/10/06/american-dream-needs-fair-minimum-wage

By Andrew Yarrow
Oxfam America, Politics of Poverty Blog, Oct 2, 2014

US businesses are in. The American public is in. So what’s next on the minimum wage, Congress?