On average, families with workers affected by the increase depend on those earnings for 60 percent of family income - and 47 percent of the families count on these earnings for all family income.

The most common argument against raising the minimum wage is that it will result in fewer jobs and will hurt the very people it is intended to help.

But the nation's experience over nearly 70 years of minimum wage laws - and the evidence from 23 states and the District of Columbia that already have raised their rates above the national level - suggests otherwise. Raising the minimum wage in Colorado will help tens of thousands of families and children while resulting in no significant job loss.

Some opponents also argue that by increasing the wage each year with inflation, we will increase the uncertainties faced by business owners - especially when inflation is high. But others argue - and I agree - that raising the wage a bit each year will bring more stability to business owners and low-income families than the current method of raising the rate by relatively large amounts every five or 10 years.

In the end, though, it comes down to fairness and how we treat the lowest paid in our society. We say a job is the best anti-poverty program. But that is true only if the job pays a wage that doesn't leave a family below the poverty level.

We like to think of Colorado as a land of opportunity, a place where the American Dream is alive for anyone who works hard to get ahead. Let's show we mean it by passing Amendment 42 in November.

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