Minimum wage workers in Washington currently make $9.19 an hour, but a new push in Seattle could soon raise that number to $15.
Fast food workers around the country are calling for a walkout later this month in an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15. According to ABC, Seattle is one city that is strongly considering the pay raise.
The City Council has said that it would consider raising the minimum wage again. This time to $15 an hour.
The biggest argument against raising the minimum wage is that it would cause many people to lose their jobs and may cause some businesses to fail.
Others argue that a raise would actually help the economy because it would give minimum wage workers money to spend.
Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer said: “A higher minimum wage is a very simple and elegant solution to the death spiral of falling demand that is the signature feature of our economy.”
The CS Monitor reports that there are more than 15 million people living in the United States who make just over $15,000 a year. If the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour those 15 million people would make about 31,000 per year before taxes.
City Council member Nick Licata said that Seattle has plenty of lawmakers that could push the new minimum wage into law but said that it could take awhile. Licata said that the council is currently worried about other issues involving low wage workers like affordable housing.
Do you think the minimum wage should be raised to $15 an hour?