IMF tells the U.S. to raise the minimum wage, By Lane Anderson, June 22, 2014, Deseret News: “The IMF released its annual review of the United States economy earlier this week and called on the U.S. to raise the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t been raised since 2009 and currently stands at $7.25. The wage totals $15,000 a year for someone working 40 hours a week. The report cut the U.S. growth forecast and called on policymakers to keep interest rates low and bump the minimum wage to spur growth and alleviate America’s 15 percent poverty rate. ‘Given its current low level (compared both to U.S. history and international standards), the minimum wage should be increased,’ the report said. ‘This would help raise incomes for millions of working poor and ensure a meaningful increase in after-tax earnings for the nation’s poorest households . . .”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty