It’s 2019 and currently 29 states and Washington D.C. are only paying minimum wage workers $7.25 an hour.
It’s been at least 10 years since the minimum wage has been raised at the federal level and those who advocate for an increase argue that the nation’s minimum wage is not even a living wage. Well, now it looks like lawmakers agree.
The U.S. House passed a bill today that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, according to @CNN. The House vote was 231-199 with three Republicans joining most Democrats in supporting the bill.
But we have to be real with you, #Roommates. It’s unlikely that this bill will become law and raise the minimum wage because it’s unlikely that it will pass in the Republican-led Senate.
The bill has no major support from Republicans. The Raise the Wage Act would bring the federal minimum wage up gradually from $7.25 to $15 by the year 2025. After 2025, the rate will be indexed to the median hourly wage of all workers.
House Democrats started the process of passing a bill in March, but struggled to get support from some more moderate members. In recent weeks, party leaders made some key concessions to get enough lawmakers on board to get it moving.
They increased the phase-in time from five to six years, and added a requirement for the government to study the economic impact of the bill after it’s in effect, giving Congress the ability to make adjustments to it in the future.
There are few cities that have already reached a $15 minimum wage– Seattle, San Francisco and New York City. And only two states, California and New York, have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
There are a few businesses on board for a minimum wage hike. McDonald’s announced this year that it would stop lobbying against raising the federal minimum wage and Walmart’s CEO recently said that the federal minimum wage is “too low.”
Those against the raise fear it would result in too many jobs lost and the White House economic adviser doubts that Trump would sign the bill if it crossed his desk.
Roommates, what do you think about this one? Let us know!
