Most Americans Support Raising Minimum Wage To Ten Dollars Per Hour, Survey Finds

The majority of Americans say they support raising the minimum wage -- by a lot.

More than two-thirds of Americans say lawmakers should raise the national minimum wage to $10 per hour from its current $7.25, a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute finds. While Democrats were more likely to support a minimum wage boost, more than half of Republican respondents said they would like to see the minimum wage go up, according to the survey.

Support for a minimum wage boost has held at stable levels for more than a year. Last year's version of the same PRRI survey, called the American Values Survey, found that two-thirds of Americans supported a hike in the minimum wage at the time.

If the current findings hold true come election day, some Republican candidates for president may have to change their tune. Herman Cain's campaign has floated the idea of scaling back minimum wage laws in impoverished areas and Michele Bachmann has said she would consider lowering it. Ron Paul has said that the minimum wage should be scrapped completely.

The candidates' views of the minimum wage are not only at odds with those of many Americans, they contradict some economists' opinions as well. A minimum wage boost would help to spur growth by pumping more money into the economy without cutting jobs, a July study from the left-leaning Center for American Progress found.

Another study from researchers at the University of California-Berkley found that raising the minimum wage would also cut down on turnover in low-wage jobs.

Still, some argue that a rise in the minimum wage would be harmful for job seekers. A study from conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, found that raising the minimum wage would put low-wage workers at risk because businesses would be hesitant to hire more of them.

But some states have already made headway towards raising their minimum wage levels. Missouri came one step closer Tuesday to getting an initiative on the state's November 2012 election ballot to raise the minimum wage, Fox 4 Kansas City reports. Colorado voters approved a 28 cent hike in the minimum wage Tuesday, that will take effect at the beginning of the year, according to hyper-local news site North Forty News. Eighteen states already have a minimum wage that is higher than the federal minimum wage, 24/7 Wall St. found.

Washington recently became the first state in the nation to boast a minimum wage above nine dollars per hour.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post misattributed a 2010 survey on the minimum wage. The survey is called The 2010 American Values Survey and was done by the Public Religion Research Institute.

Loading Slideshow

• They Handle Food That Isn't Really Food

  One <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/w2sv3/fast_food_workers_of_reddit_what_is_the_one_menu/" target="_hplink">Reddit user claiming to be an ex-McDonald's worker</a> said he once left a bag of chicken nuggets out on the counter for too long and "they melted. Into a pool of liquid." That didn't stop him from loving the nuggets, "still delicious," he wrote.

• Fast Food Companies See Huge Profits On The Backs Of Low-Wage Workers

  More than <a href="http://www.nelp.org/page/-/Press Releases/2012/PR_MinWageCorpProfits.pdf?nocdn=1" target="_hplink">60 percent of low-wage workers</a> are employed by big corporations, according to a July analysis by the National Employment Law Project. And more than 90 percent of those companies were profitable last year.

• Fast Food Workers Are Unlikely To Get Paid Sick Days

  For 40 percent of private sector workers, <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-11-28/news/bs-ed-sick-leave-20121128_1_sick-days-care-workers-service-workers" target="_hplink">taking a sick day</a> and still getting paid isn't an option, according to the Baltimore Sun. Fast food workers are especially likely to be part of that 40 percent.

• The Boss Can Threaten To Take Workers' Health Care Away

  Many fast food workers saw their health benefits put at risk this year, if they even had them at all. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/09/papa-johns-obamacare-john-schnatter_n_2104202.html" target="_hplink">Papa John's CEO John Schnatter</a> said he would likely reduce some of his workers hours so that he wouldn't have to cover them in response to Obamacare. Jimmy John's founder, Jimmy John Liautaud told Fox News in October that <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/your-world-cavuto/2012/10/16/jimmy-johns-founder-business-owners-unsure-future" target="_hplink">he would "have to" cut workers' hours</a> so that he wasn't forced to cover them under Obamacare.

• The Average Hourly Pay At Many Fast Food Eateries Is Less Than $8 An Hour

  The average hourly pay at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Taco Bell is less than $8 an hour, according to <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/50015355" target="_hplink">salary data cited by CNBC</a>.

• McDonald's Grew During The Recession

  McDonald's had <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2009/08/who_won_the_recession.html" target="_hplink">higher sales growth in 2008</a> than in 2006 or 2007, opening nearly 600 stores that year, according to Slate. The chain was able to take advantage of Americans' recession tastes: Cheap, convenient food.

• The Median Age Of A Fast Food Worker Is 28

  As more workers fight for limited jobs, many older employees are gravitating towards the fast food industry. The median age of a fast <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/11/mcjobs-should-pay-too-its-time-for-fast-food-workers-to-get-living-wages/265714/" target="_hplink">food worker is 28</a>, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by the Atlantic. For women, who make up two-thirds of the industry's employees, that age is 32.

• Labor Leaders Rarely Try To Unionize Fast Food Workers

  Fast food worker's went on strike in late November in New York City, showcasing a rare effort to organize the industry's workers. Labor leaders often don't make an effort to organize these workers because the high turnover makes the challenge daunting.

• Fast Food Workers Are The Lowest Paid Workers In NYC

  For all their work, fast food workers get very little dough. The lowest paid job category in New York City is "Combined Food Service and Preparation Workers, Including Fast Food," according to Bureau of Labor Department Statistics <a href="http://www.salon.com/2012/11/29/in_rare_strike_nyc_fast_food_workers_walk_out/" target="_hplink">cited by Salon</a>.

• The Average Pay For A Fast Food Worker In New York City Is $9 Per Hour

  Fast food workers in New York City make an <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2012/11/fast_food_forward_strike_nyc.php" target="_hplink">average of $9 per hour</a>, according to the Village Voice. That comes to about $18,500 per year for full-time workers.

Comments

[dwangelo]

07:45 PM on 11/22/2011

You don't need to cite a "conservative think tank" to know that a higher minimum wage would reduce hiring. Just ask the boss of this website. Imagine what would happen if she had to pay ANY wage!

[nothing]

10:35 AM on 11/15/2011

Headline should read, "Most Americans Support Raising Minimum Wage.....Without Understanding the Economic Effects of Minimum Wage"

[Amy01101]

08:42 PM on 11/13/2011

-continued- Lower minimum wage and spend some tax dollars on insentives for businesses (both large and small) to offer their employees raises. Let's face it their are worse insentives out there that they exploit, and if done right this kind of thing could stimulate the economy and create more jobs. The insentives are good for the business owners in not only the obvious monetary way but would provide them with better quality workers for their money, and honest hard working people would be rewarded as they should be.

[Amy01101]

08:41 PM on 11/13/2011

Oh gosh this would be horrible... When minimum wage goes up the price of everything skyrockets. You'll end up paying more then what you'd recieve. Companies don't just pull that money out of nothing and give it to you. They raise prices to compensate. You're not supossed to be able to live on minimum wage, but if the minimum wage is raised for everyone it's going to be alot more costly on the companys and kill advancement oppertunities. I don't even want to mention the greater insentive that gives to sending more jobs overseas and out of the country.

And for a moment let's think of the person who worked their way up to 10$ an hour before this. Do you think they'll be raised any higher after everybody is supossed to make 10$? Probably not, at the very least not enough to compensate for how they were previously living. It's going to pull more people into being poor, and the already poor will gain an even more dire situation.

Let's face it. You don't want everyone to make 10$ an hour. You want YOU to make 10$ an hour. Do you work hard for a living? Well that employee that was just trying to the bare minimum or is just aweful in one way or another is making as much as you do and they'll go somewhere else and do the same thing.

What do I propose if we have further government interaction with this subject? -continued-

[Overd0g2]

11:36 PM on 11/11/2011

Even if you believe in a minimum wage, it's dumb to have a single one nationwide.

[bmitche]

08:55 PM on 11/11/2011

Testing

[riverhouse]

04:45 PM on 11/11/2011

With minimum wage at $10 an hour we would not be keeping up with decency.

[Overd0g2]

11:37 PM on 11/11/2011

Sure, we'd be guaranteeing high unemployment and more automation.

[TeraWatt60]

03:57 PM on 11/11/2011

For those whining about the "cost" of the minimum wage it might help your nerves that the purchasing power of the minimum wage would still be less than in the past http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html When those who earn the minimum can't support themselves or when companies like Walmart and others hand out "benefit" forms that include Food Stamp applications because their full time wages are simply not enough to support themselves ,while the incomes of the wealthiest go up by triple digits percentages it is truly a sad time in this nation

[MrUnlimited]

10:55 AM on 11/12/2011

Wealth inequality and stagnating purchasing power are problems, but raising the minimum wage may not help the people in need of the most help:

"The authors also found that the majority of beneficiaries are not the primary earner in their family. While supporters of wage increases often claim that the increase will help sole earners attempting to raise a family on a minimum wage income, (particularly single females), these individuals represent a dramatically small minority of beneficiaries. Only 12.6 percent of beneficiaries from the proposed increase are unmarried women with children. Over 82 percent either are not the highest earner in their family, are single adults, or are married without children. The especially poor targeting of this social program makes it highly inefficient and often ineffective means of combating poverty. The majority of beneficiaries are not families struggling to survive on the minimum wage but rather second earners and teenagers."

http://epionline.org/studies/burkhauser_07-2004.pdf

[Botany5000]

02:55 PM on 11/11/2011

Insanity...!!!

Any exogenous influence on the economy has a direct effect on the economy.
In this case raising the minimum wage by 38% (2.75 on 7.25)
will increase pressures on inflation.

While no one seems to be looking food in this country has gone up 10% in the last three months.

That is huge!!!

And

Adding 38% increase to the very people who are handling the food
will do nothing but raise that rate hurting the very people that it is designed to help!

[TeraWatt60]

03:49 PM on 11/11/2011

By your logic those who work handling our food should be forced to pay for their own with Food Stamps??

[MrUnlimited]

12:07 PM on 11/11/2011

"Most Americans Support Raising Minimum Wage To Ten Dollars Per Hour, Survey Finds"

Now for a future news headline: "Most Americans Outraged At The 'Inexplicable' Significant Increases In The Prices Of Goods And Services"

[bmitche]

08:57 PM on 11/11/2011

correct.

[Bishop Coxcomb]

12:05 PM on 11/11/2011

Sure ten dollar minimum wage would be nice. The problem would be the negative effect it would have on the price of everything else. Landlords would feel justified raising rent on their properties when they become available. Restaurants would have to raise prices because their employees would have to receive more pay. Grocery stores will raise prices for the same reason. The minimum wage does not need to jump 2.25 in one move. People deserve what they get paid... if they arent making more money through a yearly raise then they should look for another job and not get stuck in a rut. Simple as that.

[westcoastsc]

11:55 AM on 11/11/2011

Raising the minimum wage is one of the surest ways to get the economy going. It is what saved Reagan's presidency.

[MrUnlimited]

10:19 PM on 11/11/2011

"Raising the minimum wage is one of the surest ways to get the economy going."

Regardless of your stance toward the minimum wage (the fact that middle class buying power is getting weaker is a problem)...how is increasing the cost of hiring workers the surest way to get the economy going?

Btw, raising the minimum wage isn't what saved Reagan's presidency. There were numerous other things happening during that period.

[westcoastsc]

11:13 AM on 11/12/2011

Because the rich don't spend. It is the workers who spend. Everything works out. Some protectionism would make it work even better.

[tarynw87]

10:45 AM on 11/11/2011

$10 an hour.. you would only support that if you arent a business owner.. ask yourself this does the fry cook at mcdonalds deserve to be making $10 an hour?

[catrancher]

11:50 AM on 11/11/2011

This survey is saying that over 66 people out of 100 are answering yes to your question.

[MrUnlimited]

12:09 PM on 11/11/2011

You and taryn may both be right. Many of those people in the 66% are probably not business owners.

[Overd0g2]

11:41 PM on 11/11/2011

You're worth whatever you agree to work for

[Jerry Lammers]

10:19 AM on 11/11/2011

The major corporations in the United States have at least $2 Trillion in cash reserves that they don't know how to invest. The appropriate target for the minimum wage should be $20/hour phased in over 5 years. The economy will flourish if money is put in the hands of those who have to spend it.

[lrobb]

07:52 AM on 11/11/2011

There is nothing which says individual states can't raise the minimum wage higher than that mandated by the federal government. The federal minimum wage is a floor, not a ceiling. Politically it is also far more doable.

Having said that, state minimum wages are part of the states-as-laboratories-for-policies concept. It is instructive to look at the policies of those states with the lowest unemployment rates--currently North Dakota and Nebraska--and the highest--Nevada and California.

North Dakota and Nebraska's minimum wage is the federally mandated $7.25. California's is $8.00 (except in San Francisco where it is $9.92), and Nevada's is $8.25. Don't think business doesn't take these figures into consideration when deciding where to locate.

[Scott Leland]

10:46 AM on 11/11/2011

California also has a 10% sales tax on prepared food and other things that people buy everyday. That reduces businesses' sales besides how much people make an hour for the people that do have jobs