There are serious competing ideas in Iowa about the minimum wage — whether to raise it, and by how much. Iowa lawmakers are currently discussing the issue; the Governor is staying out of it.
What cannot be denied is that the minimum wage is not enough — not nearly enough — to get by, and that regardless of political spin to the contrary, there are many families in Iowa whose household budgets depend greatly on that wage. Any increase will benefit a large number of Iowa working families.
We have illustrated with data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) how an increase to $10.10 from the current $7.25 would affect Iowans. That two-page piece is here. That proposal would raise the hourly wage for an estimated 306,000 Iowans (216,000 directly, and 90,000 indirectly*).
A proposal in the Iowa Senate would raise the wage by a smaller amount, to $8.75. Again with analysis from EPI, below is what could be expected if the wage were raised to $8.75 in July 2016. Compared to the current $7.25, the new wage would affect:
• 12 percent of Iowa workers
• 112,000 Iowa workers directly
• 69,000 Iowa workers indirectly*
• 181,000 Iowa workers in total — about 3 1/2 times the number of people working at the current minimum.
More impacts are shown in the adjacent graphic. EPI projects increased wages of $147 million and increased economic activity (GDP) of $93 million.
There are those who dismiss the minimum wage as a minor issue. They are wrong, and the numbers show this.
* Workers affected indirectly have wages slightly above the proposed minimum and will be affected as pay scales adjust.
Posted by Mike Owen, Executive Director of the Iowa Policy Project
Iowa Policy Points 
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