When the 25 cent an hour minimum wage became law 50 years earlier, industries warned of economic mayhem. Alarms are likely to be again sounded when Senator Kennedy and Congressman Hawkins introduce legislation to increase today's minimum wage from $3.35 to about $4.65 an hour. Final shape of the bill is not set and may prompt a veto from the president who once said that a minimum wage caused more unemployment and misery than anything since the Great Depression. The Senate has already passed its version of the bill, which would raise wages for all workers in America by $1.10 per hour, or $16.00 over two years.
When the 25 cent an hour minimum wage became law 50 years earlier, industries warned of economic mayhem. Alarms are likely to be again sounded when Senator Kennedy and Congressman Hawkins introduce legislation to increase today's minimum wage from $3.35 to about $4.65 an hour. Final shape of the bill is not set and may prompt a veto from the president who once said that a minimum wage caused more unemployment and misery than anything since the Great Depression. The AFL-CIO argues that an increase is long overdue since the minimum wage has not kept pace with rising living standards.