Minimum Wage

The House voted today to the raise the minimum wage over a three year span to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. A serious issue for many Americans has become a circus show in Washington between Republicans and Democrats. Nobody can deny that the minimum wage of today is worth more than the inflation adjusted minimum wage of 30 years ago. In fact when adjusted to inflation, today's minimum wage is 30% lower than their counter parts in 1976.

For the Americans who make minimum wage this would be the first pay increase in almost a decade. A family can not reach above the poverty line if a worker only makes the current $5.15 an hour. With rising energy costs and inflation, we need a new system in place to calculate the minimum wage on a year to year basis. The states of Washington and Oregon index their wages to inflation, why can the national government not use this system as well? Also if minimum wage rises will this also mean the price for goods skyrocket?

Second Source: http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage_minwagefaq