Americans: Up the minimum wage

An overwhelming majority of Americans (seven in 10) supports raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour, a proposal President Obama made in his recent State of the Union address. The president would like for Congress to vote on the increase by the end of 2015. “Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour,” Obama said to Congress during the speech. Here’s how the support shakes out, by political party affiliation, according to pollster Gallup.