Nearly two-thirds of Americans support raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, but a new poll from the Small Business Majority found that nearly 6 in 10 small businesses support the wage hike as well.

A new national poll of small business owners finds 57% support President Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and index it to rise annually with the cost of living. The poll, commissioned by Small Business Majority, finds that a majority of small business owners believe raising the minimum wage will boost consumer spending and generate greater economic growth.

Christine Owens, executive director of National Employment Law Project noted,  “Opponents of minimum wage increases typically hold up small businesses to justify their position, but this poll makes clear that small businesses are on the same page as the American people on the benefits of higher wages for millions of low-paid workers. Hopefully, this barometer of how small businesses really feel will help cut through the Beltway rhetoric and demonstrate the urgent need for Congressional action on this issue.”

In Washington, local small business owners like Don Orange are speaking out about our state’s proposal to strengthen the minimum wage even further by raising it to $12 an hour. In a recent op-ed in The Columbian, Don writes:

My success is tied to the economic vitality of families around me. The increasing wealth gap not only harms low-income people but it also creates a death spiral of falling demand that hurts small businesses. The truth is that increasing economic security for workers provides a boost to the bottom line of local small businesses.

We need to make steady progress toward an economy in which every job is an economy-boosting job. Full-time work ought to provide the opportunity to live decently, support a family, save for the future and fully contribute to the economic health of the community, without relying on public assistance.

A strong minimum wage is critical to the success of our Main Street businesses and our working families. It’s time to raise the wage for workers here in Washington and across the country.

You can read more about the poll over on Small Business Majority’s website.