Today, I celebrate small victories (actually it isn’t small at all). The minimum wage has not been raised since 1997. 29 states have already raised their wage above the national minimum by initiative and/or referendum. The bill is expected to pass in the House of Representatives this afternoon and continue through the Senate with quiet opposition. So workers will make $7.25 an hour instead of the measly $5.15 they are making now.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said passing the boost “is simply a matter of doing what’s right, what’s just, and what’s fair.”

“If the minimum wage had been adjusted with the cost of living on an annual basis since 1968, a minimum wage worker would not be making $5.15, not be making $7.25, would be making $9.05,” he said.

Associated Press - January 10 - 10:30am

It is about time. I’ve never made tons of money in non-profit work, but recently I’ve been looking for a possible career change. In the meantime, I thought I would get an “easy” job to keep a little money coming into the house. However, as I looked for blue-collar jobs working in coffee shops, retail, or doing hard labor – the little that people are paid an hour almost makes it “not worth my time” to accept a job. When I include the time and money for the commute my profit would be very small. The job market has amazed me.

However, I do understand that raising the minimum wage has a sincere effect on small business. My dad owns his own business with about 5-10 employees. My family has owned the business for 60 years. The store supports a small town – without it they would be lost. This is not a million dollar venture to say the least. It is a lot of work for him, and he is constantly fighting to keep his head above water. So an increase in minimum wage will literally affect his ability to retain current employees and change how many part-time workers he can hire. It might not sound like a big deal at first, but if you have ever tried to be a student looking for summer work in a small town the options are few and far between. So it does affect people. I would not pretend otherwise. It is not as black and white as television news would lead you to believe.

At the end of the day workers must be respected and supported, they make our world go round.  I used to get paid $5.00 in 6th grade for my allowance. That is not a wage people can live on. I applaud our elected officials for supporting a bill that gives a couple of bucks an hour for hard work. It is well deserved. Back to Craigslist for me . . .

For more information about the minimum wage:

• Wiki: Minimum wage
• DOL: Wages state to state
• Economic Policy Institute