July 11, 2013 | Aaron Keating

Why won’t this McDonald’s move 20 feet into lower-wage Idaho? | This McDonald’s is in the state with the higher minimum wage. And this busy intersection is so profitable that it didn’t occur to Skubitz to move, even when he tore down the old McDonald’s in 2011. He built a fancier new one in the same place instead of in the state right across the street with the lower minimum wage. Skibutz says wages are just one piece of a larger puzzle. [KPLU]

In case you’ve never tried, it’s impossible to survive on the minimum wage in America | A reporter at a CBS affiliate in Charlotte, NC wondered, how can people afford to live a normal life working a minimum wage job? The answer: they can’t. A minimum wage worker rarely makes enough money to support themselves on a routine, monthly basis. [CBS Charlotte]

Small businesses, Fed economists agree minimum wage increase will boost economy | Economists at the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank say raising the minimum wage by $1.75 would increase household spending by about $48 billion the following year (about .3 percent of GDP). A new poll finds 67% of small-business owners support increasing the federal minimum wage and adjusting it yearly to keep up with the cost of living. [ThinkProgress, Miami Herald]

Costco leads, Wal-Mart extorts delivers ultimatum on minimum wage increase | Costco President and CEO Craig Jelinek is putting his name and company in the forefront of the latest drive to increase the federal minimum wage. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart says it won’t build in the city because Washington DC leaders voted to increase the District’s minimum wage. [Puget Sound Business Journal, Washington Post]