- Still no clear path for a higher minimum wage, By Jonathan Berr, November 5, 2014, CBS News: “During Tuesday’s midterm election rout by the Republicans, Democrats captured a small victory when Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota became the latest states to raise their minimum wages. Increases also passed in San Francisco and Oakland. The impact of these votes will vary. Arkansas’ and South Dakota’s hourly minimum wage will hit $8.50, while Nebraska’s will rise to $9 and Alaska’s will reach $9.75. Residents in Illinois also gave a thumbs-up to raising their minimum wage in a nonbinding vote. Rates in San Francisco and Oakland will jump t0 $15 and $12.25, respectively…”
- Minimum wage hikes: Where voters gave themselves a raise, By Seth Freed Wessler, November 5, 2014, NBC News: “Voters in four states passed minimum wage increases at the polls on Tuesday, building on the momentum of over a dozen other states that in the last two years also increased their wage floors. Beginning in January, an estimated 420,000 of the lowest-paid workers in Alaska, Arkansas, South Dakota and Nebraska will see their paychecks grow. The state increases passed yesterday bring to 17 the number of states that since 2013 have opted to raise minimum wages…”
- Red-leaning states say yes to a higher minimum wage, By Jeanne Sahadi, November 5, 2014, CNNMoney: “The midterm elections have been rough on Democrats. But they did well on one key issue they’ve been championing for months — a higher minimum wage. Based on the results tallied by 2:45 a.m. EST, voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — all red-leaning states — had approved proposals to raise their state-level minimum wages over the next few years…”
Day: November 5, 2014
UK Cost of Living and Poor Households
300,000 more people live in poverty than previously thought, study finds, By Larry Elliott, November 4, 2014, The Guardian: “The number of people living in dire poverty in Britain is 300,000 more than previously thought due to poorer households facing a higher cost of living than the well off, according to a study released on Wednesday. A report produced by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that soaring prices for food and fuel over the past decade have had a bigger impact on struggling families who spend more of their budgets on staple goods. By contrast, richer households had been the beneficiaries of the drop in mortgage rates and lower motoring costs…”