One of the promises of President Biden’s election campaign was to raise the national minimum wage to $15 per hour. While few can argue the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is a fair wage for most Americans, most states have taken the matter into their own hands by having state minimum wages far above the national minimum. This includes Connecticut, which is moving its minimum wage to $13 per hour on August 1, 2021 before settling in at $15 per hour on June 1, 2023.

Proponents of a $15 per hour national minimum wage argue an increase to the minimum wage is needed to raise many American’s out of poverty. Opponents argue this is best left to individual states as different regions of the country have different local economies; one size does not fit all. Opponents further argue increasing the national minimum wage will have a devastating impact on local employers whose business models are not designed to support higher wages, which will result in businesses failing and layoffs increasing both of which will increase unemployment.