Barbara Ehrenreich: “Values” Voter Raise Minimum Wages

Work just got a little more rewarding in Arizona, Montana, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio and –according to CNN projections – Colorado. Voters in these states just approved increases in their minimum wages – from $5.15 an hour all the way up to $6.85 an hour in Ohio. The six new states join the enlightened 18 that had already raised their minimum wages, for a total of 24 states where it’s beginning to be worthwhile to get up and go to work in the morning.

I’m especially proud of my home state, Montana, which a decade ago was best known for its white supremacist militias. I feel like the Abe Lincoln character in the Rozerem ad: “Welcome back,” I want to say, “We missed you.” Except that the Montanans aren’t falling asleep – they’re waking up from their weird, scary, claustrophobic dream.