$10 Minimum Wage: Illinois, California Show Federal Campaign Possible?

$10 minimum wage arguments in Illinois and California are coinciding with a Federal $10 minimum wage campaign.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, a bill for a $10 minimum wage in California was approved by the state Senate.

The battle over raising the minimum wage began when Elizabeth Warren proposed a $22 minimum wage. Multiple states have been proposing a $10 minimum wage that is higher than the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. This summer Michigan pushed for a $10 minimum wage and one Michigan restaurant already pays $12 hourly and is still profitable.

The State of Illinois already has the fourth-highest minimum wage of $8.25, but Governor Pat Quinn wants to push it up to a $10 minimum wage:

“It’s a principle as old as the Bible to help those who work hard to not live in poverty. The best way to fight crime, the best way to fight poverty is to have a decent wage. That’s why we’re going to raise the minimum wage and make the will of the people the law of the land.”

Minimum wage polls show overwhelming support for raising the Federal minimum wage. But critics of the $10 minimum wage claim it’s a job killer. But is it?

One study claimed McDonald’s could afford to pay $15 an hour to their workers with only a small increase to menu prices. Another Walmart study showed $12.50 hourly was reasonable for their workers. But the only reason McDonald’s and Walmart could afford this was precisely because of their popularity. Their sales volume is so much higher compared to other fast food and retail chains, which means worker’s salaries are a relatively low percentage of overall sales income. Other companies might not realistically be able to afford such a large increase without largely affecting prices.

Still, a Federal $10 minimum wage is probably not too unreasonable based upon historical data. Economists say the goal with the minimum wage is to raise it more slowly than inflation. The end result is that the poor always stay behind the inflationary line to avoid more inflation. Essentially, you have to raise minimum wage at a level that keeps the poverty line below the cost of living.

An analysis by economist John Schmitt at the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that, if the minimum wage is indexed to the official Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), then the Federal minimum wage should be $10.52 an hour. If you use the current methodology (CPI-U-RS) for calculating inflation, then the Federal minimum wage should be $9.22.

Do you think a Federal $10 minimum wage campaign makes sense based upon the data?