By Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St., December 15, 2016
Given a chance to have their say, voters say “Yes” to raising the minimum wage. ... The federal minimum wage, set in 2009 and unchanged since, is $7.25. In 21 states, that remains the current minimum. In 29 other states (30 if we count the District of Columbia), minimum wage levels vary between $7.50 an hour (New Mexico) and a current high of $11.50 in D.C.
On November 8, voters in Arizona, Colorado and Maine approved annual increases that lift the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020, and Washington voters approved an increase to $13.50 by 2020.
While opposition to raising the federal minimum wage remains firm among many businesses, one group, Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, has a list of more than 1,000 businesses that support a $12 an hour minimum wage by 2020. The group has also compiled a list of the 19 states that will increase their minimum wage rates on December 31 or January 1. ...