Although Washington currently has highest state minimum wage in the country at $9.19 an hour, activists in the state are pushing to raise it even higher to $15 per hour.
A $15 minimum wage would be more than double the federal minimum wage, which currently sits at $7.25 per hour, however, candidates running in the City Council and mayoral election have said they'd consider it.
Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist in favor of the higher wage, said that the increase would allow workers to spend more money, which would in turn help boost the economy. "A higher minimum wage is a very simple and elegant solution to the death spiral of falling demand that is the signature feature of our economy," he said, the AP reported.
Earnings for middle-income families, adjusted for inflation, are about where they were in 1989, according to tracking by the Census Bureau. And for low-wage households -those in the bottom 10 percent - real incomes today are below the low-wage levels in 1978.
If someone works about 34 hours per week, that translates into annual income of $26,520, compared with about $16,250 for the Washington State minimum, or about $12,800 at the federal minimum. The jump, supporters say, would mean that even low-wage jobs could be living-wage jobs.
However, critics say a higher minimum wage would make it harder for companies in Seattle to survive. In addition, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a $15 minimum wage would actually hurt low wage workers because it would force small business owners to terminate employees in order to offset paying minimum wage workers a higher salary.
Residents of SeaTac will have a ballot vote on that idea this November, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
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