Hike in federal minimum wage long overdue, say proponents

Published: 2007-01-12

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- An increase in the federal minimum wage, its proponents would argue, is not only an idea whose time has come, but an idea whose time had come long ago. The minimum wage was last increased in 1997. The 10-years-and-counting gap between increases is the longest since the minimum wage was instituted in 1938. Its purchasing power also has dropped. According to Catholic Charities USA, it's now equal to $3.95 in 1995 dollars -- when the minimum wage was $4.25. The current federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour. The House Jan. 10 passed a bill calling for a minimum wage of $7.25 by 2009; under the measure it would go to $5.85 in 60 days, to $6.55 a year later and then $7.25 in two years. The Senate could take up the measure as early as Jan. 18. The federal poverty line for a family of three is $16,090, which is higher than the $10,712 that a worker getting $5.15 an hour would earn working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year.

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