Minimum Wage increase

From Dallasblog:

In a rare act of acquiescing to political reality Congressional Republicans have scheduled a vote on raising the minimum wage before next week's August recess. The vote will clearly pass but the GOP is divided. Some 31 conservatives wrote to House Speaker Dennis Hastert opposing any action on the minimum wage but 48 other Republicans with large working class populations demanded a vote. The minimum wage was last raised to $5.15 in 1996. Inflation has eaten away most of the benefits of that increase. The new wage would likely rise to $7.25 to keep pace with inflation. Polls have repeatedly shown overwhelming majorities in support of the increase and many Republicans think it could be a devastating issue if not passed.

In my opinion this is a hard issue to decide upon. No one wants to be the party or congressman to "vote against the poor." But you also have to look at how raising the minimum wage will affect everyone else. What happens to the guy who's been working for a year, got a raise and is now making $6 an hour? Now he's going to have to have his salary raised to $8 or more. To be fair the minimum wage affects everyone at every payscale. Hopefully it will turn out for the best for everyone.