Seven months ago during the State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for the increase of the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, calling it “a wage you can live on.”

Lawmakers in California took that to heart.  Governor Jerry Brown (D) recently signed a bill that will raise California’s minimum wage to $10 an hour.  The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

 The increase will occur over the next three years and be implemented in two phases: 

-$9 an hour, July 1, 2014

-$10 an hour, January 1, 2016

While Governor Brown hailed the move as a “matter of justice,” it will certainly shake things up a bit.  

Many have been quick to criticize the legislation, claiming that the new minimum wage will unfairly burden employers.  Numerous Los Angeles-area businesses labeled the act as “obscene” and maintain that consumer prices will rise, and companies will leave the state.

Since the last time Congress decided to raise the federal minimum wage in 2008, 19 states have chosen to bump their minimum wage even higher.  

Who’s getting it right?