AdvertisementEven though the federal minimum wage remains just $7.25 per hour, a majority of states now require employers to pay a higher rate. That strategy has been successful in several red states, including Nebraska and Missouri, where Republican politicians have been reluctant to raise the minimum wage due to business lobbying. Referendums on the minimum wage tend to pass easily due to their popularity even among conservative voters. Twenty states are on their way to a $15 minimum wage if they haven’t reached it already. “Right now, the federal minimum wage, if you index it for inflation, or relative to inflation, it’s the lowest level since the 1940s,” Hawley told HuffPost at the time.

Source: Huffington Post December 31, 2025 15:31 UTC