For the first time since 1997, the federal minimum wage will increase, from $5.15 per hour to $5.85. According to The Virginian Pilot, that increase will affect about 51,000 Virginians.
Increasing the minimum wage was one of the things promised by the Democrats in Congress. While the full impact of the increase won’t be felt for two years, with additional 70-cent increases in July 2008 and July 2009, this is a step in the right direction.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
I wonder where that money’s going to come from.