Six states -- Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio -- have minimum wage measures on the ballot this November, with plans for annual adjustments for inflation. Small businesses, and in particular restaurants, are concerned that they will be the hardest hit if the measures pass. Restaurants, which have an unusually high failure rate, say they will have to pass on the costs to the consumers, reduce their staffs, or both. Yet some economists assert that businesses can afford the increases and applaud the trend of states rising above the federal hourly minimum of $5.15 (21 states already have higher minimum wages).
See "With Wages on Ballots, Restaurateurs Do the Math", Regan Morris, The New York Times, November 1, 2006