Minimum Wage ought to be a State by State decision.
7.25 * 40 hours = 290 per week for a full time employee.
290x52 = 15K per year
You have little chance of surviving on 15K per year in New York, but you might be able to eek out an existence on that amount in Mississippi. So it would make sense that States each set a minimum wage to correspond to the cost of living in that location. It would also allow States to compete for workers, raising the minimum wage to bring in a workforce when demand exists etc...
What the Federal Government ought to be doing is setting an absolute limit on poverty. Minimum Wage is only one of many components needed to do that. Minimal health care, food programs, shelter programs, medicaid, etc etc when properly implemented would create a 'hard floor' below which no citizen could fall. Food, Sanitation, Shelter, Basic Medical Care etc are not luxuries, they are necessities - that's why we provide all of the above for prison inmates. Having citizens without food, sanitation, shelter and proper basic medical care results in rampant crime, spread of disease, and a lower standard of living overall. State minimum wage should be an income level above that absolute limit on poverty set nationally.
