What determines minimum wage?

can someone tell the deciding factors of minimum wage?
Answers:
Politics. Voters like the sound of a wage increase. However, if the minimum wage goes up, employers have to pay their employees more, which means they have to make more money. This means raising prices, which makes the wage increase useless. It's all politics.

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The democratic party.

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The US Congress passes legislation raising the minimum wage and the legislation has to be signed into law by the President.

Generally, Congress looks at the minimum wage and compares it to the "poverty level". If it's less than the "poverty level" they start trying to pass legislation. It usually takes several attempts to raise the minimum wage because it always gets attached to unrelated legislation.

For example, the 2007 minimum wage increase was added as an amendment to the Military Funding bill.

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The primary calculations are based on housing costs and basic food costs. Laws detarmine minimal wage. There is no direct correlation.

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It's supposed to be adjusted according to inflation and the cost of living. By that standard, minimum wage should start at over $12 and hour--good luck convincing our overpaid Congress and president to make that raise. This raise would boost spending power and the economy (no, businesses can only raise prices so much--they'll have to forfeit extra profit, that's all). It would also force many illegals out of the retail work force (because would you want to hire illegals at McDonald's when you have to pay them $12, or get more for your money by hiring someone who is more experienced and doesn't have a language barrier?). Hey, at least we're more competitive with China now with our slave wages! Japan's has many of their cars made in Kentucky to save on labor costs--LOL!

And to those who think that depressed wages boosts the economy by keeping labor costs and prices supposedly low, just take a look a how GREAT the economies and living standards are of third-world countires! Maybe we should make minimum wage even lower!