The 15 cent an hour increase is better than nothing according to the Director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, but insists its not enough to live on.

Chuck Sheketof says the public sector has to step in to help these workers meet basic needs.

He doesn't buy the argument a higher minimum wage will hurt business.

"The employees can't afford to buy at these businesses either when they're earning minimum wage.  It's a bogus argument.  These same people said the sky would fall when Oregon tied the minimum wage to the cost of living and the sky didn't fall.  We need it to keep going up so these people can meet their basic needs."

The Oregon Center for Public Policy estimates workers have to earn near the ten dollar an hour mark to get by ... and Oregon won't see a minimum wage around that level until 2018.