15 Now

The "15 Now" campaign for a minimum wage of $15 an hour, which won a victory in SeaTac, Washington, is now spreading to Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Portland OR, and several other cities and regions. In Washington state, opponents of the local minimum wage increase are backing a statewide ballot initiative that would mean the state, rather than individual cities or towns, would set a "uniform and consistent" minimum wage that would apply statewide. That ballot initiative may create some head-scratching conflicts for free-market types, who generally oppose minimum wages but who also favor local decision-making to accommodate regional differences.