In the last two years, more than 20 states and an even greater number of cities have passed laws to raise the Minimum Wage. More states and municipalities are expected to do so in 2018. In many of these areas, those increases were decided at the ballot box, with voters agreeing to increase the hourly rate for minimum-wage workers. Many small business owners see this as beneficial to their bottom line, as most of the more than 4 million workers will now have more disposable income, and will spend it on products and services in their stores.