About 17-million Americans will start seeing bigger paychecks this week. Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are raising their minimum wages. Most of the pay hikes are part of multi-year plans to raise the minimum wage to something closer to a living wage, while nine states are making cost-of-living adjustments. Raises are as small as a nickel an hour in Alaska and as big as two dollars an hour for people who work for large employers in New York. People in California, Maine, and Massachusetts will get dollar-an-hour raises.