Q: President Obama was quoted in an email that “28 million Americans would benefit from raising the minimum wage and 70 percent of Americans agree that now’s the time to do it.” I would like to know if these statistics are true.
—Mac Sommer, Woodstock
A: A report from the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, stated that "27.8 million American workers would see their pay increase" if the minimum wage is raised to $10.10 an hour by 2016.
The report, issued in December, stated those workers “would receive about $35 billion in additional wages over the phase-in period.” That would have raised the minimum wage from its current $7.25 to $8.20 this year, $9.15 in 2015 and $10.10 in 2016.
In a Gallup poll conducted Nov. 5-6, 2013, 69 percent of Americans surveyed said they would vote to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour “with automatic increases tied to inflation.”
Q: MARTA discontinued the shuttle to Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood a few years ago due to budget cuts. With MARTA’s recent budget surplus, are there plans to reinstate it?
—Tim Jenkins, Atlanta
A: MARTA will not restart shuttle service to the amphitheatre "due to budgetary reasons and limited ridership," a MARTA spokesman told Q&A on the News in an email. Extra buses will be deployed on Route 155 if there's an event at Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood that might cause "crowding concerns," he wrote. MARTA discontinued the shuttle in 2010.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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