Wages for Kentucky workers at the bottom of the income scale have been eroding, leading to growing inequality and contributing to persistent poverty in the state. The decline in the real value of the minimum wage has been a major contributor to this erosion. Increasing the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, as proposed in House Bill 2 in the 2015 Kentucky General Assembly, would lift the wages of one in four Kentucky workers, stimulate consumer spending and strengthen communities by allowing families to better meet their basic needs.
