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Should We Raise the Minimum Wage?

New poll shows continued public support for raising the national minimum wage.

 

The Huffington Post reported this week that more than two-thirds of Americans are in favor of raising the national minimum wage to $10 an hour from its current $7.25, based on a survey by the Public Religion Research Institute.

Eighteen states currently have mininum wage laws higher than the federal minimum wage. New York is not one of them. 

Critics of raising the minimum wage argue that doing so would hurt job seekers as the added costs would mean businesses' would be reluctant to add new workers.

We want to hear from you. Do you support raising the minimum wage? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments.

  • Do You Support Raising the Minimum Wage?

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • 1. Yes, no one can live on Long Island on $7.25 an hour.
        26 (86%)
    • 2. No, it would hurt small businesses and job seekers.
        4 (13%)
    • 3. Not sure/share your thoughts in the comments.
        0 (0%)
    Total votes: 30
  • This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Jobs and Minimum Wage

Kieran

5:49 pm on Sunday, November 13, 2011

So everybody is worth $10 /hr? What If an employer wants to hire a worker, but he's only worth $7/hr, that employer is not going to hire that person . Get rid of the minimum wage &increase unemployment. It will give employees an incentive to work harder & move up in the company.

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Andrea

9:43 am on Monday, November 14, 2011

You want to increase unemployment and get rid of the minimum wage? Seriously?

Dylan Skolnick

2:13 am on Monday, November 14, 2011

The minimum wage is essential for our society, but it is too low. It should definitely be raised to $10.00.

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Andrea

9:43 am on Monday, November 14, 2011

The minimum wage needs to be some kind of living wage - that is the point of the minimum wage concept. I can't even imagine how you could live on Long Island for $7.25 an hour. If employees can't afford to live within a reasonable distance of their jobs, the positions will remained unfilled.

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Kieran

9:26 am on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

How do you know what somebody's worth? Then why don't you make it $50.00 /hr? That should be enough right? Let the employers set the wage!

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Andrea

9:30 am on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

There is a lot more that goes into determining a wage than someone's "worth" - thus the reason why the same jobs in the midwest pay less on average than their NY counterparts.

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Kim

12:02 pm on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

@ Kieran,

What method in your opinion will the employer use to decide what the wage should be? Will they go with zero for instance so they have the greatest savings?

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