In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour by 2015 and to provide for annual cost of living adjustments. The California Assembly will also consider a bill which would raise state hourly rates to $9.25 by 2016. We discuss the politics and economics of the proposed minimum wage increases, and the impacts on workers and businesses alike.
Is It Time to Raise the Minimum Wage?
In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Obama urged Congress to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour by 2015 and to provide for annual cost of living adjustments. The California Assembly will also consider a bill which would raise state hourly rates to $9.25 by 2016. We discuss the politics and economics of the proposed minimum wage increases, and the impacts on workers and businesses alike.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Guests:
John Kabateck, California executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
Sylvia Allegretto, labor economist for the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley