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CBS News: Arguments over $15 minimum wage persist as Biden pushes COVID economic rescue plan

By Sarah Ewall-Wice
CBS News, Jan 27, 2021

President Biden is among those who believe that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour is what's needed to bring the lowest-paid Americans out of poverty. "No one in America should work 40 hours a week making below the poverty line," he said Friday. ...

Some business groups even argue that the increased wages put money back into local economies and small businesses. Business For a Fair Minimum Wage has gathered more than 1,300 signatories in support of the effort, ranging from small businesses across...

Yahoo Finance: Empowered Bernie Sanders leads new Democrat push for $15 federal minimum wage

By Aarthi Swaminathan
Yahoo Finance, Jan 26, 2021

New Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and congressional Democrats are renewing their push to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. ... The newly introduced bill is co-sponsored by House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA), Sanders, Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL). ...

Mike Draper, owner of Des Moines-based Raygun LLC, a clothing, home goods and printing company, also expressed his support for the bill.

“This...

Business Record: Raygun owner Draper joins in small business support for national $15 minimum wage

Business Record, Jan 26, 2021

A prominent Des Moines small business owner is siding with federal minimum wage advocates who say that “raising wages is good business.” Mike Draper, owner of Raygun LLC, a popular clothing, home goods and printing company in the East Village, participated in a live videoconference today with other business owners from around the country and members of the Committee on Education and Labor... in support of the Raise the Wage Act of 2021. The legislation would raise the federal minimum wage incrementally from $7.25 to an hour to $15 by 2025.

“Paying...

Vermont Business Magazine: Sanders, top Democrats introduce bill raising minimum wage to $15 by 2025

Vermont Business Magazine, Jan 26, 2021

In a press conference today, incoming Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) joined incoming Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Representative Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) to announce the introduction of legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. ...

"Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 will be a boost to the economy, and a boost to our sales. Raising wages is good business. Paying people fairly leads...

Business Insider: How Bernie Sanders hopes to make the $15 minimum wage a reality

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 26, 2021

"This is not a radical idea," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Tuesday. "This is what the American people want." ... Sanders was speaking on a press call with other Democrats from both congress and the senate who introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. 

The call also included Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the House Education and Labor Committee Chairman, who said the act would raise wages for 32 million workers, around half of whom are essential workers...

Des Moines Register: Iowa unemployment rate drops to near pre-pandemic level, even as job recovery lags

By Tyler Jett
Des Moines Register, Jan 26, 2021

... 'As much money in as many hands as possible'

The new jobs report arrived Tuesday as Democrats, with control over both the U.S. House and Senate, began to map out economic policy priorities. The most prominent move so far: The roll-out of Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus proposal. ...

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats introduced a bill Tuesday to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 over the next four years. Mike Draper, owner of the Des Moines-based RAYGUN T-shirt and souvenir stores, spoke...

Herald Mail: Pennsylvania's minimum wage is the lowest in the region. Advocates tell lawmakers an increase is overdue.

By Chris Ullery, Bucks County Courier Times
Herald Mail, Jan 21, 2021

Democratic lawmakers heard from advocates, academics and business groups Monday on a renewed push to give minimum wage workers in Pennsylvania a raise to $15 an hour. Over 100 people attended the Zoom hearing on minimum wage hosted by the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee, covering a broad range of topics over three hours.

The state has used the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage since 2009, a wage that many lawmakers and advocates say is unlivable and perpetuates poverty. ...

Testimony from members of...

MarketWatch: What economists and workers say about Biden’s bid for a $15 minimum wage and end to tip credits

By Elisabeth Buchwald
MarketWatch, Jan. 19, 2021

... Dubbed the American Rescue Plan, [Biden's] proposal also includes $1,400 stimulus checks and increased child tax credits. “No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” Biden said when he announced the package. “That’s what it means if you work for less than $15 an hour and work 40 hours a week, you’re living in poverty.” ...

Some also see a $15 minimum wage as a tool for helping businesses.

“Workers are also customers. The current minimum wage keeps workers in poverty, and...

Business Insider: Joe Biden's plan to increase the minimum wage to $15 won't just help workers

By Juliana Kaplan 
Business Insider, Jan 15, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden's newly unveiled $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes one important economic measure — raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. ...

That means over 20 million workers could get a raise — and a new study finds the pay bump could also be a boon for taxpayers. 

The study, which comes from the UC Berkeley Labor Center, found that the country's current low minimum wage costs taxpayers more than $100 billion a year. That's because nearly half of the working families who would benefit from the...