It's time to raise the minimum wage (Mpls Star Trib) June 17, 2006

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/498325.html

Editorial: It's time to raise the minimum wage
Low-wage workers deserve to share the economy's gains.

Published: June 17, 2006

In the last five years Congress has enacted tax relief for stock investors, oil companies, heirs of large estates, families with children, middle-income married couples, affluent households with high deductions and companies with depreciable assets.
For low-wage workers Congress has done . . . well, nothing. Last week, on a bipartisan vote, a House appropriations committee decided to do something about that and raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25. It would be the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nine years -- the longest such spell on record -- and it deserves to become law this year.

Raising the nation's wage floor wouldn't be so urgent except that in the last five years the nation's economy has performed deplorably for the working poor. Median hourly wages, adjusted for inflation, are lower today than they were in 2001. Median household income has fallen five years in a row. Wage inequality is at its highest level in 30 years.

These are not healthy trends for a society that believes in equality of opportunity and the dignity of work, and the minimum wage is one of the few tools that Congress has to correct them.
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• Does the minimum wage punish employers and reduce hiring? In theory yes, in reality no. After the last minimum-wage increase took effect, in 1997, the nation experienced the strongest jobs recovery in 30 years. During the last decade, states with high minimum wages have had better job creation than states with low minimum wages.

<snip>

In theory you are correct as long as you exclude the fact that the United States of America will be the "American Union" as of 2010.

The Neo Cons have in place a plan to eliminate the middle class in America.
They intend to import 80 million folk from south of the border to accomplish this.

By raising the minimun wage, this will expedite their hidden agendas.

There is a much bigger picture here, sad to say.

http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=15233

http://www.amerikanexpose.com/agenda21/

I hope this helps to explain my answer.