A majority of Americans support President Barack Obama’s call to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 per hour while a plurality believes such an increase would help the economy, according to survey results from a pollster widely cited by Republicans.
Findings from right-leaning Rasmussen released on Tuesday showed that 54 percent of Americans favor increasing the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, a proposal outlined by Obama during his State of the Union address last week. Only 39 percent are opposed to the proposal.
Respondents were more divided on its overall economic effect, but a slight plurality of 44 percent believe Obama’s proposal would help the economy. Thirty-six percent said increasing the minimum wage to $9 an hour would hurt the economy.
The poll also found a huge majority — 72 percent — say that the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is not enough for someone to live on.
