Raising the minimum wage is one of those things that's extremely popular with the public, but only happens at the federal level when Democrats control Congress. At that point, significant numbers of Republicans usually join in voting for an increase. Go figure. That means, though, that the federal minimum wage gets raised and then deteriorates, falling behind the cost of living as the years pass and Republicans refuse to bring it for a vote. That's where we are today, with full-time work at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 leaving a family of two below the poverty threshold; happily, 18 states and the District of Columbia have taken matters into their own hands and have state minimums above $7.25. But that doesn't help workers laboring under the federal minimum wage, and a large majority of people want to see it increased, as a new poll from Hart Research Associates shows:What's more, 51 percent of registered voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported raising the minimum wage, while just 15 percent said they'd be less likely. Among independents, 46 percent said they'd be more likely, and 13 percent said they'd be less likely.

No one who works full time should live in poverty, but that's what a federal minimum wage of $7.25 means. Tell Congress to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and tie it to inflation, so that workers don't have to wait years for a raise.