Congress has repeatedly failed to bump up the minimum wage and since 1997, it has remained at $5.15 an hour. Since then, 19 states and three cities have raised base pay rates higher than the federal minimum, while scores more of other cities have enacted living wage laws for government contractors. This November, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Ohio will decide whether or not to raise their own hourly base pay. In Santa Cruz, CA, the year's hottest election issue is Measure G, a city-wide proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.25 an hour. FSRN's Vinny Lombardo examines the potential impacts on the Santa Cruz economy. Audio

see also: Santa Cruz Businesses That Don't Care About Workers' Lives || Measure G, Political Nastiness, & the lies of liberal democrats - EDITORIAL || Raise The Minimum Wage, Yes On Measure G!