It’s time for Maryland to raise the minimum wage.

Corporate profits are at an all-time high, but working families in Maryland are falling behind. At just $7.25 an hour, our state’s minimum wage is leaving hard-working families in poverty. Every year, prices go up while wages remain stuck, and making ends meet gets tougher for our families.

If Maryland’s minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be worth over $10.70 now. Maryland’s minimum wage was already worth over $10 per hour — in the late 1960s. Since then, the state’s minimum wage has lost over 30 percent of its purchasing power.

Raising Maryland’s minimum wage to $10.10 will help 455,000 workers across the state by giving them a raise. This in turn will stimulate nearly half a billion dollars in economic activity over the next two years and actually create jobs to meet the demand for goods and services.