Earlier this year, a group of business school researchers from the University of Washington and NYU, as well as Amazon, published an influential paper claiming that the rising Seattle minimum wage had decreased take-home pay for workers by 6% due to cuts to work hours -- the paper was trumpeted by right-wing ideologues as examples of how "liberal policies" hurt the workers they are meant to help. Read the rest

The National Restaurant Association privately commissioned GOP pollster Frank Luntz and his company LuntzGlobal to poll Americans on their support for raising the minimum wage, a policy they staunchly oppose; that poll has now leaked, and it reveals a nation that stands in solidarity with low-waged workers, with 71% of Americans supporting raising the minimum wage to at least $10, even if they have to pay higher prices as a result. Read the rest

By every measure, Minnesota governor Mark Dayton's five year run as governor has been a stellar success: while Tim Pawlenty, his tax-slashing, "fiscally-conservative" Republican predecessor presided over a $6.2B deficit and a 7% unemployment rate (the mere 6,200 jobs added under Pawlenty's 7-year run barely registered), Dayton added 172,000 new jobs to the Minnesota economy, brought Minnesota down to the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, and brought the average Minnesotan income up to $8,000 more than the median US worker, while posting a $1B budget surplus. Read the rest

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The National Low-Income Housing Coalition has released a new report with a startling fact Read the rest

Billy Domineau at Matter: If you have a minimum wage job ($7.25/hour), you need to work 55 hours to buy an iPhone 6 Plus (64 GB), and 149 hours for a year of Verizon service; 74 minutes gets you a Sara Lee Frozen Apple Pie. Read the rest