Minimum Wage

Minimum wage is the legal floor on hourly pay, set by federal, state, or sometimes city law, below which an employer generally can't pay a worker. It's one of the more politically contentious economic tools that exists: raising it puts more money directly into lower-income workers' pockets, but critics argue that pushing it too high too fast can lead some businesses to cut hours, automate roles, or hire fewer people. Because the federal minimum hasn't been the binding number in many places for years, thanks to state and local minimums running higher, the real debate usually happens at that more local level.