16% Would Raise Minimum Wage Over $10.10/Hour

According to a recent CNN/ORC poll dubbed "The American Dream Poll", a full 71% of all Americans would support raising the federal minimum wage.

The minimum wage has become a hot button topic over the past couple of months. There have been talks to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10, but Congress hasn't been able to come to a consensus on the issue as of yet.

A number of states and cities, however, have taken it upon themselves to increase their minimum wages.

Maryland, for instance, will see their minimum wage rise gradually to $10.10/hour by July 1st, 2018. Minnesota will see their minimum wage rise to $9.50 by 2016, while Delaware's minimum wage will increase to $8.25/hour by June of 2015.

The issue received additional press last week when Seattle's city council announced that they were approving a gradual increase of the city's minimum wage to $15/hour by 2021.

-

The issue of the federal minimum wage has gotten a great deal of attention over the past couple of months. President Obama and Congressional Democrats have been pushing the issue ahead of the mid-term elections in November, as they sense (correctly) that the nation is largely behind them on this matter. The Republicans want "Obamacare" and the deteriorating situation in Iraq to the issues that voters focus on in November, while President Obama and the Democrats want voters to focus on the national minimum wage.

-

According to the CNN/ORC poll, the clear majority of Americans support an increase of the federal minimum wage, which currently sits at $7.25/hour.

36% of those surveyed said that the national minimum wage should be $10.10/hour (this is the level that President Obama and the Democrats are pushing), while 16% say that the federal minimum wage should be even higher.

28% of those surveyed oppose an increase in the national minimum wage.

Democrats (90%), Independents (67%) and Republicans (54%) all support an increase to the minimum wage.

-

Those who are in favor of increasing the minimum wage argue that it is nearly impossible to survive on just $7.25/hour, and that all Americans should have a chance of having a decent living wage.

Those who are opposed to increasing the minimum wage worry about the impact that an increased minimum wage will have on businesses. They argue that nobody benefits if a company goes out of business due to increased employee costs.

What do you think?

Source: CNNMoney.com - Strong support for raising minimum wage

Filed under: General Knowledge