Vox Pop : Open Forum - The Minimum Wage : 3/6/13

In his State of the Union Address last month, President Barack Obama called on congress to pass an increase to the federal minimum wage, raising it from its current rate $7.25 per hour to $9 per hour.

This week, House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, more than a dollar higher than Obama proposed.

Enlarge image

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin and California Representative George Miller say their bill, introduced yesterday, would boost the minimum by 2015, followed by automatic annual increases tied to changes in the cost of living.

Republicans are thus far rejecting the idea, saying it would hurt employers.

In New York, the state assembly voted last night following four hours of debate to increase the minimum wage to $9-dollars an hour with automatic increases tied to inflation, putting pressure on senate's republicans who are seeking business tax cuts in a potential legislative deal…

Today we want your outlook on the minimum wage. Should it be raised? By how much? Would a large increase hurt business owners and therefore the overall economy?

You can post your questions and comments below, below our Vox Pop wall post on our Facebook page, or tweet us @WAMCVoxPop.