By Kate Taylor
Business Insider, Nov 9, 2016
Four states voted on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage. In Maine, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington, voters passed ballot measures to increase the minimum wage to at least $12 an hour by 2020. More than two million people will receive pay raises thanks to the new laws. ...
The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn't changed since 2009 and Congress has blocked numerous attempts to raise it. ...
But there's a ton of research that shows raising wages does not lead to massive job cuts. And not every business owner is opposed to raising the minimum wage.
"We haven't had an increase in the federal minimum wage in seven years. That's crazy!" Bill Phelps, co-founder and CEO of Pasadena, California-based Wetzel's Pretzels, said in a statement on Wednesday. "We’ve experienced strong sales growth after minimum wage increases. Raising the minimum wage is good for our bottom line."
One state rejected a proposal to actually lower the minimum wage on Tuesday. South Dakota's proposed law to lower the minimum wage from $8.55 an hour to $7.50 an hour for minors failed to pass, with 71% of voters rejecting the measure.
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