ALBANY — INCOME inequality is a national problem that leaders at all levels of government are grappling with. While American capitalism never guaranteed success, it did once guarantee opportunity. But today, too many Americans don’t believe their children will have a better life than their own. The ideal of mobility has been replaced by the reality of stagnation.

Some argue that we can close the income gap by pulling down the top. I believe we should do it by lifting up the bottom. We can begin by raising labor standards, starting with the minimum wage.

In 2013, I raised New York State’s minimum wage; it is now $8.75, up from $7.25 (and will rise to $9 at the end of the year). In my latest budget, I proposed raising it again, to $11.50 in New York City and $10.50 elsewhere in the state. But the Legislature rejected that proposal. So I am continuing the fight. While lawmakers delay, I am taking action.

State law empowers the labor commissioner to investigate whether wages paid in a specific industry or job classification are sufficient to provide for the life and health of those workers — and, if not, to impanel a Wage Board to recommend what adequate wages should be.