By Shawn M. Carter
CNBC Grow, Nov 12 2020
The federal minimum wage in the United States has been $7.25 since 2009, and the momentum to increase it has been growing among lawmakers. In 2019, the House of Representatives passed the Raise the Minimum Wage Act, which aims to gradually lift minimum hourly wages from $7.25 to $15 by 2025.
That initiative is popular with Democrats and increasingly so with Republicans as well. When President-elect Joe Biden, who supports the idea, takes office in January, he could have a chance to make it law. ...
Florida’s new $15 wage law ‘sent a clear message’
A number of states have already passed legislation to make the local minimum wage $15/hour. Florida is the most recent: Over 60% of residents in the Sunshine State just voted in favor. That means more Floridians agreed about the importance of a higher minimum wage than voted for either presidential candidate. President Donald Trump received about 51% of the popular vote in Florida while the former vice president garnered 47%.
“Florida’s amendment to raise the minimum wage … sent a clear message to Washington that there is strong support across the country and across the political spectrum,” Holly Sklar, the chief executive officer of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, tells Grow. “Floridians voted for shared recovery and a more resilient economy. It’s a win-win for workers and businesses.” ...
“We’re in the longest period without a raise since the federal minimum wage was enacted in 1938,” Sklar says. “A $7.25 minimum wage keeps workers in poverty, and that’s bad for businesses as well as workers. Raising the minimum wage is a very powerful way to boost businesses and the economy, because it puts money in the hands of people who most need to spend it.”
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