Overwhelming Support from Experts and All Americans

The American people want a minimum wage increase. In the 2006 elections, voters passed all six state ballot initiatives to increase the minimum wage. As of January 1, 2007, 28 states and the District of Columbia will have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum. A post-election Newsweek poll found that 89 percent of Americans support increasing the federal minimum wage. [Source: Reuters, 11/11/06]

665 economists agree: raise the minimum wage. In October 2006, the Economic Policy Institute released a statement in support of the minimum wage increase signed by 665 economists, including five Nobel Laureates. According to the statement, the economists "believe that a modest increase in the minimum wage would improve the well-being of low-wage workers and would not have the adverse effects that critics have claimed." [Source: Economic Policy Institute, 10/06]