House Votes to Raise The Minimum Wage

Workers who are tired of asking the boss for a raise might have a reason to celebrate a recent move by the House of Representatives. On Thursday, the House approved a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2025. The pay hike was a top priority for House Democrats but isn't expected to get far in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The proposal got mixed reviews from the Congressional Budget Office, who said the pay raise would help 1.3 million people escape poverty, but also end up cutting about 1.3 million jobs. The current federal minimum wage has not changed since 2009, when it was set at the current $7.25 an hour.

Several states across the country have raised their state's minimum wage for workers.  The state of Idaho is not one of them.  The current minimum wage in Idaho is  7.25 an hour.  Business owners believe that raising the minimum wage will hurt big and small businesses by raising labor costs.

Currently their isn't a movement within the state legislature to raise the minimum wage.  Although, it could be brought up next year during the 2020 Idaho Legislative Session.   We'll continue to monitor the situation and let you know if there is any movement towards raising wages at the state level.

What do you think?  Should the minimum wage be $15 an hour, or is that too high?  What would you make it?  How much did you get paid at your very first job?