Congress handed a major victory to low-income workers on Thursday night by approving the first increase in the federal minimum wage rate in a decade…. The measure would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $5.15 in three stages over two years. The bill includes $4.84 billion in tax breaks for small businesses. President Bush said he would sign the measure as part of the bigger [Iraq] spending package that had been negotiated between Democratic lawmakers and the administration. (New York Times, Friday)
Willful ignorance.
FEE Timely Classic
Price Floors, Surpluses, and the Minimum Wage by Dwight R. Lee