ProCon.org Debuts New Minimum Wage Website Showing Pros, Cons, and History of Minimum Wage Debate

Experts on both sides of minimum wage debate sound off in neutral forum

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Apr 07, 2016, 10:10 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following California and New York's decision to increase the state minimum wage to $15, ProCon.org, the nation's leading source for pro and con information on controversial topics with more than 23 million readers in 2015, has published new nonpartisan research on the debate over raising the federal minimum wage. Minimum wage marks the 55^th issue explored by ProCon.org.

Available at http://minimum-wage.procon.org, the new website presents sourced pro and con arguments, as well as an extensive illustrated history. Sources referenced include the Congressional Budget Office, OECD, numerous think tanks, and economists at institutions such as Cornell, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Oxford, University of Chicago, and the Federal Reserve.

ProCon.org's minimum wage website shows position statements in response to the question "Should the federal minimum wage be increased?" from prominent individuals and organizations including:

National Employment Law Project (pro)
US Chamber of Commerce (con)
Barack Obama (pro)
Ed Rensi, former CEO of McDonalds (con)
Mitt Romney (pro)
Donald Trump (con)

The minimum wage website also features a video gallery, state-by-state minimum wage levels, presidential candidate views on minimum wage, and Did You Know? facts including:

The first state minimum wage laws, introduced between 1912 and the early 1930s, only covered women and minors. The first to cover men was introduced in 1937 in Oklahoma.
The first federal minimum wage law was signed in 1938. Today it affects 2.5 million Americans, roughly 55% of whom are older than 25.
29 states and Washington, DC have set their minimum wages above the $7.25 per hour federal minimum.

Kamy Akhavan, President of ProCon.org, said: "The minimum wage debate has been an ongoing battle since the 1920s. Our readers were tired of hearing the same old partisan noise on this issue, so many of them asked us to get involved. ProCon.org gives people the best information on both sides of the debate, so they can think for themselves and make their own decisions."

For more information visit the ProCon.org minimum wage website at http://minimum-wage.procon.org.

About ProCon.org

ProCon.org (www.procon.org) is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2004, whose mission is to encourage critical thinking, respectful debate, and informed citizenship. ProCon.org has more than 23,000,000 annual readers. Information is presented on 55 different ProCon.org issue websites in subjects ranging from alternative energy, gay marriage, and medical marijuana to the death penalty, immigration, and the 2016 presidential election.

ProCon.org is free of charge, requires no registration, and has been used by educators in more than 7,000 schools in all 50 states and more than 85 foreign countries.

ProCon.org is widely used and cited by mainstream media, including: The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, BBC, Slate, Daily Beast, Forbes, The Atlantic, and USA Today.