The federal minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour today, the second bump that is part of a law passed last year to increase the wage to $7.25 by next summer (see this story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). As the AJC correctly points out, the increase will have a significant impact in Georgia, but for more than half the states, it won't do much because the federal government is woefully behind the curve: Yet in 30 states, Thursday's change is a yawner: They already have higher wage floors — the highest being California and Massachusetts at $8 an hour and Washington at $8.07 an hour. In Georgia, the new floor matters: About 210,000 Georgians work for the minimum wage, according to a 2006 study by the Georgia Policy and Budget Institute. About 461,000 others, while making a little more than the minimum, would also likely get a boost because of the change, the GPBI said. For a full-time worker, Thursday's $28-a-week raise would mean a year's pay of $13,624. That is below the official poverty line for a family of three — and about one-third of the Georgians affected by the change are parents, according to the GPBI. Nationally, it is estimated that 2.1 million workers will receive a long-overdue pay increase today, but for a family of three, a minimum wage earner will still be well below the federal poverty line. Related Articles: OurFuture.org: The Next Minimum Wage Fight Jonathan Tasani: The Minimum Wage: A Disgrace and a Scandal EPI: Guide to the Minimum Wage