This week has become pivotal for the minimum wage debate. Forces to improve the minimum wage descended on Washington as the U.S. Senate took up the issue, but Republicans blocked the bill. President Obama reacted quickly, click here, while Democrats now are seizing on making that divide an important part of midterm elections in November. Click here.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, the mayor and local officials are now moving towards a $15 minimum wage in the city. Click here. And on Friday, Hawaiian legislators moved to raise that state’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. Click here.

While his predecessors did sign bills to increase minimum wages, one analysis stressed that President Obama lacks a Republican partner. Click here.

And a poll may explain that while 71 percent of those surveyes  supported raising the minimum wage, many of those same people said it has little to do with their vote. Just 58 percent said they would punish someone electorally for opposing the minimum wage. Click here.

Still, the debate goes on –on the effects on workers, clearly, and on business. The New York Times editorialized that raising the rate is good for business, click here, while The Washington Post explored the split between big and small business reactions here.