Great news regarding increasing the minimum wage with an increase from $8 to $11 an hour in Massachusetts signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick (fully effective by 2017) and, in the corporate sphere, with IKEA planning to raise it's average hourly wages to $10.76 an hour.

The Massachusetts law will give that state the highest minimum wage in the country.

From Governor Patrick - who appears to see this increase as just a first step:

"This minimum wage is great progress, but it's not a livable wage," Patrick said to applause from members of Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition that had gathered more than 350,000 signatures in favor of a minimum wage hike.

"Keep looking ahead and above all, keep in mind that people for whom the American dream is still just a dream . . . deserve the chance for themselves and their families to dream along with the rest of us . . . ." ( link)

President Obama, who recently signed an executive order increasing the wages of employees of federal contractors to $10.10 on future contracts (effective 2015) and has supported increasing the federal minimum wage (currently a measly $7.25 an hour) to $10.10, strongly praised Massachusetts lawmakers for the new law.