Sunday, January 22, 2006

States Raising Minimum Wage On Their Own

A Pew Research Center study, just published on Friday, finds that thanks to state legislation, nearly half of all Americans live in states where the minimum wage is set higher than the minimum $5.15 per hour set by the U.S. Congress almost a decade ago. Moreover, the number of states raising the minimum wage on their own is trending up. (Note: Tennessee has no minimum wage law, which means that the federal law is automatically in effect here).

Somehow, I don't think that these results are what some have in mind when they argue that we should leave such decisions to the states rather than to the federal government. Be careful what you ask for, you just may get it.

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