Last July I voted to raise the federal minimum wage by $2.10.  The increase, which be will be completely phased in by 2010, is the first minimum wage increase almost 10 years.  The increase is long overdue.  The minimum wage, which until this year was only $5.10 and is currently only $5.85, is simply not enough to cover the needs of the average family as they struggle with increasing costs of child care, education, health insurance, and gasoline prices. The value of the minimum wage has dropped to its lowest level in over half a century.

Raising the minimum wage will mean a $4,400 yearly pay raise—money that could pay for 15 months of groceries, or more than two years of health care.  It could buy 19 months of utilities, 20 months of child care, or 30 months of college tuition at a public, 2-year college.Over the next two years, as the legislation takes effect, the minimum wage will increase from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 per hour. Thanks to this increase, by 2010 a family of four will move from 11 percent below the poverty line to 5 percent above the poverty line. Nearly 13 million people will benefit from the increase.