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Raising the minimum wage.(GRAPH: NATIONAL)
- Article from:
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New York Times Upfront
- Article date:
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February 20, 2006
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The federal minimum wage has been the focus of intense debate ever since its inception during the Depression, in 1938. That year, the minimum wage was set at 25 cents an hour. It has been raised 19 times since, over the objections of opponents who say that higher minimums hurt job creation, especially for the young and unskilled.
Since the last hike in the federal minimum wage, in 1997, repeated attempts to raise it further have been defeated in Congress. The most recent defeat was last October.
However, 17 states and the District of Columbia have opted to raise their minimum wages above that of the federal government. The graph at the right shows the minimum wage in ...