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Most of the US already has a higher minimum wage

Meanwhile, some 30 states, as well as DC, now have state-level wage standards that are well above the federal minimum. According to some estimates, at least 43% of the US workforce lives in states with a minimum wage of $15 or more. Big national employers like Amazon and Target long ago raised minimum wages to at least $15 an hour in their effort to attract and retain workers. Pay, in fact, has risen the fastest among lowest-wage workers.

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“As wages have grown, fewer people are working at exactly the federal minimum wage, even if many are still paid $8, $9, or $10 an hour,” Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told Quartz.

“As far as whether the minimum wage leads to better lives or fewer jobs I think the research is clear,” he added. “Minimum wage increases have not led to large job losses and instead have raised the earnings of the lowest paid workers.”

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