Politics & Government

Should U.S. Minimum Wage Be Raised?

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) wants Congress to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) is calling on Congress to raise the national minimum wage by passing the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

Casey says that increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation will offer a lift up the ladder to the middle class and boost the economy by stimulating new spending.

"Six years have passed since the last minimum wage increase was enacted," Casey said. "Pay for the middle class is stagnant while the gap between the haves and have-nots widens. That is why I support legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and to thereafter index the wage to inflation. This will be an important step to address an imbalance that can cause a full-time worker trying to support their family to be paid below the poverty level."

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The purchasing power of the minimum wage is down 30 percent from its peak in 1968, according to a press release from Casey's office. Adjusting for inflation, the 1968 minimum wage would be more than $10.50 today.

Currently, 15.7-million children in the United States, or more than one out of five, have at least one parent who would receive a raise if the Fair Minimum Wage Act were passed. Eight-and-a-half-million parents across the country would receive a raise if the Fair Minimum Wage Act were passed. The average parent affected by this bill contributes nearly 60 percent of his or her entire family's income.

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