House rejects minimum wage hike, By Rebekah Metzler, May 25, 2011, Morning Sentinel: “The Maine House voted 77-69 along party lines Tuesday to reject a proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage from $7.50 to $8 an hour over the next two years. The vote marked a change from recent years, when Democratic majorities in the Legislature routinely approved increases. Republican lawmakers, now in the majority, argued Tuesday that an increase would serve as a mandate that harms businesses. Democrats said struggling low-wage workers could use the extra $10 a week to buy necessities…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty