Support the Minimum Wage Increase

I'm not a big fan of Ted Kennedy, but I'm thankful that he has put so much energy into sponsoring and advocating for an amendment to a Defense Appropriations bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour. (I'm also not a fan of amendments to legislation that have little to do with the subject of said legislation. But the U.S. so urgently needs to raise its minimum wage that I'm willing to play along.)

I'm familiar with the arguments against raising the minimum wage, but I'm not convinced that asking employers to pay workers $7.25 per hour will wreck the economy. Given the cost of living in this country, $7.25 really isn't that much. While free market competition inevitably raises wages in some sectors, many Americans remain in poverty.

A lot of people work very hard, doing very important jobs, for very low wages. The minimum wage has not kept up with the rate of inflation and cannot reasonably cover one's basic expenses. My inner Republican tells me that the best way to stimulate the economy is to put more money in people's pockets. So let's put a few extra bucks in the pockets of the Americans who need it most.

Click here to contact your senator.