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By Dominick Reuter and Madison Hoff
Business Insider, Dec 30, 2021. Also MSN Money, more

New Year's Day will bring a raise for minimum wage workers in 21 states and 35 cities and counties. ...

"When the minimum wage is too low it hurts workers who can't afford the basics and it hurts businesses that count on customers with money to spend," Holly Sklar, the CEO of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, said in a statement. "As the federal minimum wage remains stuck at an inexcusable $7.25 an hour, state increases are vital for strengthening our recovery." ...

"Our experience shows that you can pay well and be profitable," said Katie Bach, the director of strategy for &pizza, an east-coast restaurant chain that already offers a starting wage of $15. Bach told Insider, "we hope that higher minimum wages will help our competitors see that for themselves." ...

"Minimum wage increases don't go into workers' pockets and disappear. The money recirculates as spending at local businesses like ours," Gina Schaefer, the owner of several hardware stores in the DC area, said in a statement. "Whole communities are strengthened. Fair pay has always been key to the great service that keeps our customers coming back." ...

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