United Press International (UPI), Oct. 16, 2018
From marijuana in the Midwest to abortion and minimum wage in the South, voters across the United States have more than just hotly contested congressional races to consider in next month’s midterm election. ... Here are some of the highlights. ...
Minimum wage
While there are nationwide campaigns to raise the United States’ minimum wage to $15, two states in the South have ballot measures to raise theirs to a shorter extent.
Arkansas’ provision would raise minimum wage from $8.50 an hour to $11 an hour by 2021. The last time the state had an increase was in 2014 when voters OK’d a gradual $2.25 increase, which fully went into effect January 2017.
Missouri’s initiative is more ambitious, seeking an increase from $7.85 an hour to $12 an hour by 2023. If approved, the minimum wage would rise to $8.65 in 2019 and then increase by $0.85 each year.
“The gradual minimum wage increase will give businesses time to adjust while experiencing benefits such as cost savings from lower employee turnover and increased sales thanks to greater consumer buying power,” Pam Hausner, a leader in the effort to increase the minimum wage, told the Kansas City Star. ...
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