Minimum wage at the forefront, with eye on elections, By Pamela M. Prah, April 15, 2014, Stateline: “A wave of efforts to raise the minimum wage at the state and local level will run through November, when voters in eight states could consider ballot measures to raise hourly rates higher than the current $7.25 federal rate. This is the second year in a row that states have picked up the pace of increasing the minimum wage, after President Barack Obama’s proposal to increase the federal rate to $10.10 an hour stalled in Congress. Since the year began, these states have approved minimum wages that are higher than the current federal level: Connecticut ($10.10), Delaware ($8.25), Maryland ($10.10), Minnesota ($9.25) and West Virginia ($8.75).The District of Columbia raised its rate to $11.50. When these measures go into effect next year, half the states will have minimum wage rates higher than the federal level…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty