Minimum Wage Decrease Expected

(Denver, Colorado) Colorado's minimum wage rate may decline since it is linked to the cost of living.

An estimate released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Colorado's cost of living fell 0.6 percent from July 2008 to July 2009. The drop, attributed to falling fuel prices, means Colorado's minimum wage of $7.28 an hour could go down in January, though it can't go lower than the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Colorado labor officials concede the 3-cent drop is probable, because the amendment passed by voters says only that the wage "shall be adjusted annually for inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index used for Colorado." But a spokesman for the state labor department said the drop won't be certain until an official announcement due by late September.

Being a laissez-faire kind of guy, I don't believe the government should make laws regarding wages.