These 5 States Are On Their Way To A Higher Minimum Wage

Are you ready for a raise? If you live in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Washington or South Dakota, [...]

By Brent McCluskey

Are you ready for a raise? If you live in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Washington or South Dakota, you might soon get one.

As Congress stalls on raising the $7.25 hourly minimum wage at a federal level, the issue heads once again to state ballots, putting the power back into the hands of voters. It's not a guaranteed victory, but according to Jerold Waltman, a political scientists at Baylor University who has written extensively about minimum wage and politics, things are looking good.

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(Photo: I Will Teach You To Be Rich)

"It almost always passes when it gets on the ballot," said Waltman. "Most Americans have a fundamental sense of fairness, that if you work, you ought to make enough to make a living wage on. Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on this."

And therein lies the primary issue for many Americans who work hard and pay their taxes. Even with dual incomes, it's often not enough to make ends meet. Mayra Pride and her husband, a construction worker and landscaper, know this all too well. The couple could be forced to move after the birth of their fourth child due to financial constraints.

"It's not close to enough," Pride said after a recent shopping trip to a discount store that sells cheap toiletries and paper goods. "We pay over $1,000 a month rent. That basically eats it all up. We can't afford anything else sometimes."

For the Prides, and countless others, a bump in the minimum wage could mean the difference between putting food on the table or going hungry.

Many oppose the proposed minimum-wage hike, but the majority of labor unions are in full support.

"The ballot measures are part of a much bigger picture and a much larger message from workers that they can't get by on the minimum wage," said Laura Huizar, staff attorney for the National Employment Law Project, which favors raising the wages.

While each state's minimum-wage hike will vary, anything above $7.25 an hour is going to make a huge difference in people's lives.

[ H/T AP ]

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