Minimum Wage, Revisited

Greetings,
In August, I blogged about Russell Simmons's ideas on raising the minimum wage.  Fast forward a few months later and minimum wage increases are on the ballot in a number of places.  According to this article, they appear to be quite popular in Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and San Francisco:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/04/business/minimum-wage-state-referendums.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Whether or not raising the minimum wage makes good economic sense is something that economists continue to debate.  That being said, Russell Simmons was on to something.  Several states and municipalities have also taken note and added ballot measures.  Further, this is a different approach than raising the Federal minimum wage.  Instead of looking to Washington, DC to increase the minimum wage, this focus is on local and state-wide initiatives.  With these votes, it's a different sort of deal than a politician's campaign promise to raise the minimum wage which may or may not come to fruition.  It's up to the voters to decide on the ballot.  On Election Day, we'll see how it all sugars out.