The federal minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour for 15 years. Given the situation, here's an idea: Why not raise the federal minimum wage right now? Getting anything done legislatively is always a challenge, especially in an election year, but polls indicate a higher minimum wage is broadly popular. AdvertisementOnce the minimum wage gets so high that it starts to cause a bunch of job loss, that's a problem. If a higher minimum wage lifts millions of people out of poverty, that's incredible.

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Persons: it's, Yannet Lathrop, California's, It's, Jacob Vigdor, Vigdor, Justin Wiltshire, Michael Reich, David Neumark, shouldn't, we've, they've, Emily Stewart Organizations: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment, New York Times, Congressional, University of Washington, University of Victoria, UC Berkeley's Center, Dynamics, University of California, Business Locations: Nebraska, Florida, Washington ,, Washington, West, Wisconsin, Iowa, Mississippi, South Carolina, Seattle, California, British Columbia, New York, Irvine, America, Wiltshire