Missouri’s minimum wage will (slightly) rise in 2014
Currently, minimum wage in the state of Missouri is $7.35. That is arguably not a livable wage. Thanks to a ballot initiative from 2006, though, the minimum wage in Missouri is required to be recalculated annually based on changes in the state’s cost of living (which is based on the Consumer Price Index). So, starting in January, that figure will hike 15 cents, to $7.50 an hour.
In utterly unsurprising news, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce opposes this tiny increase. “As the minimum wage increases, the ability of employers to continue to employ workers is damaged – hitting entry level jobs especially hard,” says Missouri Chamber President Dan Mehan.
This incremental increase pales in comparison to the Harkin-Miller bill, a piece of legislation gaining momentum in Washington that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The Obama administration has signaled it would support the Harkin-Miller bill, also known as the Fair Minimum Wage Act. (The federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009.)
“After adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage today – $7.25 – is worth $2.00 less than in 1968, and is nowhere close to a living wage,” concluded the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute in a study earlier this year.
