Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Reading that a TV show losing ratings pays the host an annual salary of $26 million, my "irony sensor" buzzed. A bill to raise the minimum hourly wage from the current $7.25 to $9.90 was introduced in July. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 is Senate Bill 3453 and House Bill 6211, in case you have friends in high places.

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that, if passed, the Fair Minimum Wage Act would raise the wages of 28 million low-paid workers in the U.S., boost the Gross Domestic Product by over $25 billion, and support the creation of over 100,000 jobs.

Before Labor Day was a back-to-school and shopping celebration, the first Monday in September was a celebration of the hard work and dedication that released children from hard labor and workers from 60-hour weeks. If every laborer is worth his hire, and we truly believe with Saint Paul and our founding documents, that we are all equal in the sight of God, isn’t it time to take a small...