Democrats will be pushing higher minimum wages to help with 2014 elections

UPDATE: Fox News discussion on "Will minimum wage be hot topic in 2014 midterm elections?"

ORIGINAL POST: Economists have long understood that minimum wages hurt the very lowest skilled individuals the most.  The people who are just trying to get a leg up the later of success are stopped from getting on the first step.  You raise the wages of employees so that there is an excess supply, and the ones who are the least productive (e.g., those that require the most training) are less likely to make the cut.  Yet, Democrats claim that they are pushing higher minimum wages to help the poor.  From the Associated Press:

Republican governors running for re-election next year are looking to capitalize on distaste for Washington gridlock and President Barack Obama's dropping public approval amid the bumpy rollout of his signature health care law — and Democratic challengers may need to respond with a popular cause. 

A minimum wage increase could be the answer. 

Democrats vying to challenge a slew of Republican governors, particularly those seeking re-election in states that Obama won last year, are talking up an increase as their campaigns get off the ground 11 months before the election. . . .  

Thus far, the Republicans whom Democrats view as most vulnerable aren't changing their minds and supporting it. 

In addition to Corbett, the Democrats' list of most vulnerable includes Maine's Paul LePage, Michigan's Rick Snyder and Wisconsin's Scott Walker. Florida's Rick Scott and Ohio's John Kasich might be insulated because their states' laws boost minimum wage with inflation and Iowa's Terry Branstad, New Mexico's Susanna Martinez and Nevada's Brian Sandoval aren't viewed as sufficiently endangered. . . .

The push is likely to be the center piece of Obama's 2014 domestic agenda.  From Politico:

Podesta, who had just announced plans to spin off from CAP a new project focusing on economic inequality, will be part of the big minimum wage hike push likely to be the centerpiece of Obama’s pared-down 2014 domestic agenda. “It will fuel our politics for years to come,” says Neera Tanden, who replaced Podesta as CAP’s CEO. . . .