‘Raise the Wage’ and create a long-term solution to economic inequality and wage stagnation

Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act.

Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below.

To: All members of Congress

Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to increases in the median wage so that the minimum wage maintains its value for low-wage workers, and gradually eliminates the tipped-industry loophole.

By raising the wages of 35 million workers, the Raise the Wage Act would provide $80 billion in increased earnings over the first five years, benefiting low-wage workers, children, families and Main Street businesses. An increased and indexed minimum wage will provide stability and predictability for employers, and also benefit Social Security by infusing the trust fund with additional payroll tax revenue.

Pass the Raise the Wage Act and create a long-term solution that lifts American workers and our economy today and in the long term.

In 2014, the minimum wage was 24 percent below its 1968 level even though U.S. productivity more than doubled in that period. That’s a big problem for America’s low-wage workers—nearly 90 percent of whom are 20 years old or older, have some college experience (45 percent), and are supporting children (28 percent).

The historically low minimum wage also hurts the businesses that serve these workers. And it contributes to the widespread wage stagnation that people across the political spectrum identify as the country’s key economic challenge.

The “Raise the Wage Act” would:

  1. Raise the federal minimum wage to $12.00 by 2020 (by $0.75 to $8 an hour the first year, then by $1.00 a year for the next four years).
  2. Set automatic increases starting in 2021 to keep pace with rising wages overall (i.e., adjust the minimum wage to maintain a constant minimum wage–to–median wage ratio).
  3. Gradually phase out the subminimum wage for tipped workers, which has been frozen at $2.13 since 1991.