Residents of nine states  - Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington  - will see a boost to their local economy from a state minimum wage increase taking effect in the new year.

Unfortunately, media coverage of the change varies across place and often undermines public support for this progressive step.

For example, an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer begins with the suggestion that the raise benefits only the workers getting the increase:

"Local minimum wage workers will have something to celebrate with the coming of a new year."

The reporters continue with this narrow frame by implying that certain employers and the state's 300,000 minimum wage workers will be the only ones to feel the impact of the change.

The online comments regarding the article illustrate the destructive debate that inevitably flows from this framing. When the reporter suggests the impact is only felt by a small group of employees and certain employers, the debate devolves to the worthiness of workers and an us-vs-them depiction of who benefits and who suffers.

For example, one commenter shares an out-of-date (but widely held) perspective on the ability of workers to climb the wage ladder.

"You're not supposed to survive on minimum wage as an adult, because it's supposed to be the starting point not what you make an hour when you have chosen to add more mouths to feed. Secondly, if you start at minimum wage, within a very short period of time you will get raises. now the conditions are: you have to show up on time, do a good job, and make yourself a valuable employee. Wow, big surprise, then you continue up the ladder."

Another commenter illustrates how the "charity" framing leads to the us-vs-them debate that undermines public support for improving jobs.

"all this does is hurt the middle class. Push up the wages off teenagers and young college students, which force up prices in stores for the average middle class america....stupid stupid stupid."

We could debate the assertions of these commenters. But that's not an argument we really want to have - or that we can win with "facts". Public understanding of this issue won't change just because we have good data.

Instead, it's our job to work for better media coverage.

Our own talking points should start with the fact that these increases strengthen the local economy by ensuring that there are better jobs in the community - a benefit that accrues to everyone.