In coming weeks President Obama and Hill Democrats will launch a new campaign to raise the minimum wage. Working with labor unions and activist groups, Democrats hope to increase the federal minimum wage from its current $7.25 to $10.10. “It’s well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right now is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office,” the president declared in his Dec. 4 speech on inequality.

Republicans will argue that raising the minimum wage will hurt the economy, as employers, especially small businesses, hire fewer low-wage workers. It’s an argument Obama expects to hear a lot. “Now, we all know the arguments that have been used against a higher minimum wage,” he said December 4. “Some say it actually hurts low-wage workers — businesses will be less likely to hire them. But there’s no solid evidence that a higher minimum wage costs jobs, and research shows it raises incomes for low-wage workers and boosts short-term economic growth.”