WASHINGTON, D.C. - Across the country, federal and state legislators are considering ways to raise the minimum wage amidst a recovering economy and debates on income inequality, The New York Times reports. The federal minimum wage currently stands at $7.25 an hour, and was last increased in July 2009.

Lawmakers in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey and New York are pushing to hike the minimum wage above $7.25. A joint committee on labor okayed a proposal to propel the Massachusetts entry-level wage to $10 an hour, which would bypass Washington state??s starting wage of $9.04, currently the highest in the United States.

Congress has felt the pressure of these state movements, too, as labor and liberal groups are asking Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, to spearhead a proposal to advance the federal minimum wage to $9.80 an hour within two years.

Democrats and labor both say it??s time for another raise because of the Occupy Wall Street message and to spur voters to support their candidates. "It??s always good to surface an issue that captures voters?? enthusiasm and distinguishes the bad guys and the good guys," said Jen Kern, minimum-wage campaign coordinator at the National Employment Law Project.

However, businesses are wary of increasing the starting wage at time when the economy has yet to fully recover. "It??s a classic election-year ploy to make the Democrats look like they??re protecting low-income workers," said Randal K. Johnson, senior vice president for labor issues at the United States Chamber of Commerce. "I think it??s well understood that raising the minimum wage hurts workers on the lower end of the pay scale in that it does kill jobs."