The gist: States should index their minimum wage to inflation to give low-income workers a boost and help residents meet their needs without assistance.

The details: Washington and Oregon are leaders when it comes to minimum wage. Both states make annual inflationary adjustments to minimum wage and, partly as a result, they have the first and second highest minimum wages in the US, at $7.63 and $7.50, respectively. These wages boost economic security for low-income workers and create a meaningful incentive to find work. And research has show that increasing minimum wage has a minimal effect on unemployment.

The US federal minimum wage, however, is set at just $5.15 per hour and is not adjusted for inflation. As a result, minimum wage is at its lowest value in real terms in five decades, making economic security elusive for low-income people and reducing the incentive for unemployed residents to find work. Workers in Idaho and Montana, whose states don't have their own minimum wages, are especially harmed by the low federal minimum wage.

One key step would be for all Northwest jurisdictions to peg minimum wage to inflation, as Washington and Oregon have done.

In British Columbia, where minimum wage is set at Can$8.00 (about US$6.67, adjusting for purchasing power), and in Alaska where it's set at $7.15, the minimum wages should be adjusted for inflation to give low-income workers a boost and help residents meet their needs without assistance.

And all Northwest areas should consider adopting "living wages," minimum pay rates that reflect the true cost of goods and services, which is generally higher than the comparatively small minimum wages in even Washington and Oregon.

See also:

Unemployment and the minimum wage

Sightline's Economic Turnaround series