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Works Cited

"Minimum Wage Overview: Provisions Of The Fair Labor Standards Act. (Cover Story)." Congressional Digest 92.5 (2013): 3-10. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

"Minimum Wage Workers: Characteristics Of Those Employed At Or Below The Minimum Wage. (Cover Story)." Congressional Digest 92.5 (2013): 11-32. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Sickler, Melvin ¿Mel". "Should Congress Increase The Federal Minimum Wage And Index It To Inflation? (Cover Story)." Congressional Digest 92.5 (2013): 19-29. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Aaronson, DanielFrench, Eric. "How Does A Federal Minimum Wage Hike Affect Aggregate Household Spending?." Chicago Fed Letter (2013): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Knabe, Andreas, and Ronnie Schöb. "Minimum Wages And Their Alternatives: A Critical Assessment." German Politics 20.4 (2011): 506-526. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.









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"A rousing State of the Union speech, but little hope for action in divided Washington." San Jose Mercury News (CA) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.



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Mocarsky, Steve. "Area lawmakers weigh in on State of the Union address." Times Leader, The (Wilkes-Barre, PA) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Pitman, Barrie Barber and Michael D. "Business leaders: Minimum wage should increase, just not yet." Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Pitman, Barrie Barber and Michael D. "Business leaders: Minimum wage should increase, just not yet." Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH) 30 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

"EDITORIAL: Obama touts the art of the possible." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Bunch, Will. "In State of the Union, Obama calls for a 'year of action'." Philadelphia Daily News, The (PA) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Tamara KeithDavid WelnaClaudio SanchezBruce, Auster. "Inside The State Of The Union: What The President Proposed." Morning Edition (NPR) (2014): Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Joe Fiorito Toronto, Star. "Life on minimum wage is not a decent living." Toronto Star (Canada) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Johnson, Shea. "Local congressman says president short on specific solutions." Daily Press (Victorville, CA) 30 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Richard WolfUSA, TODAY. "'Make this a year of action'." USA Today n.d.: Middle Search Plus. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Mitchell, Corey. "President Obama praises Punch Pizza for raising its minimum wage." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Miller, Kevin. "President's call for strengthening middle class resounds with Pingree, Michaud." Portland Press Herald (ME) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Belser, Ann. "President's call to raise minimum wage felt by Pittsburgh residents." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) 30 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

"Reaction to State of the Union falls on partisan lines." Lima News, The (OH) 30 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

"Sherrod Brown: Obama Made A 'Strong Case' For Minimum Wage Raise." All Things Considered (NPR) (2014): Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Conniff, Ruth. "The Democrats' Progressive Turn." Progressive 78.2 (2014): 6. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

Roosevelt, Margot. "Workers applaud Obama's wage move." Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA) 29 Jan. 2014: Newspaper Source. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

























A rousing State of the Union speech, but little hope for action in divided Washington

The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, Jan. 29:



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___

President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech Tuesday night was a rousing reminder that from now on, his presidency is primarily about one thing: ensuring that all Americans, regardless of their status at birth, have the opportunity to reach the middle class and beyond. Amid the partisan rancor of our daily lives, it was a moment to stop and reflect on what Obama and his allies are really fighting for.

The speech was the most realistic of Obama's presidency _ the first time he has so openly acknowledged that pretty much any proposal requiring congressional approval is going nowhere, at least before the November election. Depressing as that is, it's better for the country to see Washington as it is rather than hearing a president pretend it's different and list legislative proposals that will go nowhere.

There were no big new policy ideas, a reflection of this reality. Instead, Obama reiterated points he has been making for months and in some cases years. He asked Congress for preschool funding, tax and immigration reform, to eliminate subsidies to fossil fuel companies, extend unemployment insurance, raise the minimum wage, fund infrastructure spending, protect voting rights, close Guantanamo and impose some common-sense gun regulations.

Every one of these ideas enjoys widespread public support. Yet immigration reform is probably the only one with even a slim chance at passage this year, and that is because some Republicans realize immigrants are becoming a powerful voting force.

Still, Obama's persistence is inspiring. He knows that the battle to restore upward mobility and the middle class, for example, will be a long one. As he recently told David Remnick of the New Yorker, "One of the things that I've learned to appreciate more as president is you are essentially a relay swimmer in a river full of rapids, and that river is history."

It was also refreshing that Obama did not apologize for his flawed but essential health care reform law, which despite its glitches is bringing economic security and peace of mind to millions of Americans. He was right to challenge Congress to come up with some of its own ideas instead of just continuing to try to repeal his _ 40 times so far.

Obama's promise to do what he could in the absence of congressional action was smart politics, even if it will result in little real progress. For example, his executive order requiring new military contractors to pay at least $10.10 an hour will affect perhaps a few hundred thousand workers _ but along with his promise to persuade employers to follow his lead, it is a pointed reminder to Congress that tens of millions more could be helped by an increase in the federal minimum wage.

A big question for Democrats was whether Obama could give them a platform from which to wage the bruising battle for control of the Senate this fall. Philosophically, he has done that. Whether that's enough will depend on the response by Americans to the principles he reiterated Tuesday.

___

(c)2014 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

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Area lawmakers weigh in on State of the Union address

~~~~~~~~

Steve Mocarsky

Jan. 29--Four area legislators on Tuesday shared their thoughts on what President Barack Obama had to say in his sixth State of the Union address.

The two Democrats and two Republicans expected the president to focus on jobs and economic growth, and they weren't off mark.

The Democrats stressed the importance of increasing minimum wage and worker training, while Republicans said cutting back on excessive regulation, opening new markets and tax reform are needed to get the economy moving.

Rep. Matthew Cartwright

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, said "economic opportunity" should be Congress' and the administration's top priority.

In a news release, Cartwright commended Obama on "beginning the conversation" by signing an executive order Tuesday morning providing a minimum wage increase to $10.10 for federally contracted workers.

"July will mark five years since the federal minimum wage was last raised, that's why I support legislation introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. George Miller that would raise the minimum wage of $10.10 (nationally) by 2016. This policy would directly provide higher wages for close to 17 million workers by 2016," Cartwright said.

Cartwright said research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising demand and providing job growth.

Sen. Robert P. Casey

"I am gratified that the president made jobs and the economy the central focus of his State of the Union address," U.S. Sen. Robert Casey said in a prepared statement after the speech.

"Despite recent economic progress, far too many Americans are still struggling to get back on their feet. If you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed. I was encouraged by the President's emphasis on worker training programs, hiring incentives and pay equity to ensure workers have the chance to get ahead," Casey said.

Casey said responsible development of natural gas is something he has pushed for a long time and the president's proposal will help create jobs in Pennsylvania while at the same time decreasing the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"I was also glad to see that the President underscored his commitment to early education and research to ensure our nation's long-term global competitiveness," Casey said.

"I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats to advance these efforts along with additional job creation measures like my bipartisan small business bill so that we can grow the economy and strengthen the middle class."

Casey previewed speech

Earlier in the day in a teleconference with the media, Casey underscored additional points he thought Obama would touch on, focusing on increasing the minimum wage.

Increasing the minimum wage "would be the right thing to do for workers" and is important for not only minimum wage earners, but for the economy, and is another way to help children because 15 million children live in a household in which at least one parent is a minimum wage earner, Casey said.

Even though Obama was unable to push through an increase to $9 an hour in 2013, Casey is optimistic Congress can pass a bill this year because "no matter what party you're in or what part of the country you're in, the challenges that these families face are still every bit as acute and intense and burdensome as they were a year or two ago."

Casey also said he hoped the president would focus on helping small businesses. He pointed to a bills that would set a permanent maximum tax deduction at $250,000 and a 10-percent tax credit for hiring new employees.

Rep. Louis Barletta

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, said he didn't hear anything in Obama's speech that would turn the economy around.

"Tonight, the president tried to convince us that our economy is better off today than it was when he first took office. However, our national debt is $18 trillion and growing, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act has proven disastrous, and executive overreach has become the new normal in Washington," Barletta said.

Barletta said the president spoke of income inequality, but opined that his policies have done nothing to help close the gap, much less spur the economy or create jobs.

I believe the best way to address this divide is to put hardworking Americans back to work. We should invest in our small businesses, our infrastructure, and the next generation of our nation's workforce. More government regulations will only add fuel to the fire, amplifying existing problems that our country cannot afford," he said.

On immigration reform, Barletta said he's unconvinced that "legal status is anything less than the functional equivalent of amnesty. I've seen very little throughout this debate to assure me that we will permanently secure our borders. Failure to do so will repeat the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty law that gave birth to the illegal immigration crisis our country has faced for the last two decades."

Bemoaning broken promises

"This past year Americans suffered countless broken promises from the president. If we hope to ensure equal opportunities for all Americans, a 'pen and phone' strategy is not the answer."

Asked if he agreed with anything the president had to say, Barletta pointed to the need for pre-kindergarten early education as well as "the need to match people to new job skills. I've been a supporter of that for some time."

He also agrees with the president on a need for tax reform and a need to do more for small businesses.

"However, his over-regulation is what's killing small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit in our country. His idea is good, but his policy is what's hurting the economy. More people are falling into poverty and more people have given up looking for work," Barletta said.

Sen. Patrick Toomey

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey said the problems the president decried in his speech "have grown far worse as a direct result of his policies. Now he is threatening to double down on those failed policies with unilateral executive fiats that may exceed his constitutional and legal authority."

Toomey, in a news release, also said Obama overstated the extent of the economy's recovery under his policies.

"The labor force participation is at its lowest point in 35 years because more and more people have become so discouraged with our dismal job market that they have given up looking for work in the Obama economy. Median family income is down by $2,000 since he took office. And the very income inequality the President spoke of has exploded under his leadership, so that today there is a wider gap than there was under President Bush and even prior to the Great Depression in 1928," Toomey said.

In response to Obama's call for an increase in the minimum wage, Toomey said there are ways to create jobs and a more robust economy in which all incomes rise, "for women and men, upper and lower income, everyone." He touted a bill he worked on with Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to help small business grow and hire workers.

Some mutual agreement

Toomey agreed with the president that tax reform is needed, and pledged to support reform that would "spur economic growth and enable American workers to compete successfully against foreign workers."

Toomey said median income grew between 2007 and 2012 in "predominantly energy producing areas," and called for Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which he said "would create many jobs for Pennsylvania-based contractors and suppliers and allow the production of oil and gas on more federal lands to diminish our dependence on foreign energy."

"I am glad President Obama stressed the need for Trade Promotion Authority (Tuesday night). On a bipartisan basis, we must allow the president to complete trade deals that will open up foreign markets for Pennsylvania exports," Toomey said.

"While we disagree on other economic issues, I am reassured that our president remains committed to maintaining America's role as a global trade leader," Toomey said. "I remain eager to work with the president on this issue and other efforts that will grow our economy."

___ (c)2014 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Visit The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at www.timesleader.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Business leaders: Minimum wage should increase, just not yet

~~~~~~~~

Barrie Barber and Michael D. Pitman

Jan. 29--The White House ordered minimum wage pay boost for federal contract employees was applauded by supporters of raising long-stagnant wages, but the mandate raised concerns among some who might have to pay the bill.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday in his State of the Union address he would issue an executive order in the coming weeks to raise the minimum wage for federal contract employees to $10.10 an hour "because if you cook our troops' meals and wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live in poverty."

The federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 an hour, and $7.95 an hour in Ohio.

Obama has urged passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and index it to inflation in later years. U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and U.S. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced the bill that would raise the minimum wage in three incremental steps.

But Obama called upon small business owners Tuesday night to voluntarily "give America a raise."

"This will help families," he said. "It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn't involve any new bureaucratic program."

But some area business owners and leaders hesitated on raising the minimum wage by 28 percent from the current federal minimum and 21 percent over Ohio's minimum.

Todd Hall, owner of Todd Homes in Liberty Twp., said the consumer price index has been flat for the past several years, and supplies to manufacture goods have increased over the years -- and some in the housing industry as much as 300 percent.

"They want to pay more money, but the reality is there isn't more money out there to be paid," said Hall, who is also the chairman of the Butler County Republican Party.

Eventually, he said, business owners will be able to accommodate raises, but raising it 28 percent over the federal minimum is a bit much.

"The two main drivers in the economy are the housing market and auto industry, and the reality is our prices have been flatlined or reduced," Hall said. "You're not talking a two to three percent increase, you're talking a 25 percent increase."

Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kert Radel said the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation over the years, and employers can only pay what the bottom line dictates.

"There is the economic impact upon the business community. I think business owners want to do everything they can for their employees ... but they have to see what they can afford to pay," he said.

A result in raising the minimum wage could be job losses, Radel said, because employers have a fixed amount of cash for payroll.

"It's not a bad idea ... it's just a matter if middle America or Main Street USA can afford to do it on their own," he said.

And if the minimum wage is raised, and employees are not laid off, the consumers will absorb the costs, said Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.

"They're going to put that in the price of their product," he said.

Pearce said historically minimum wage jobs are meant as stepping stones for the younger populations -- for those in high school and college -- to get acclimated into the workforce. And whether a position mandates a higher wage above minimum is determined by the market in the region.

"The market is really going to dictate your pay," Pearce said. "Employers look for the competitive rate. (Hypothetically,) the market may be lower for a job in Dayton than it is in Cincinnati."

Congressional approval would be needed to raise the federal minimum wage, but the president has the power to raise federal contract employee wages.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest single site employer in the state, has the most federal contract employees in the region, but the Air Force could not provide numbers on how many earn less than the targeted hourly wage. The rule would take effect in new contracts to give contractors time to price bids compensating for the higher costs, according to the Air Force.

The base had 3,447 contract employees and a $344 million payroll in fiscal year 2012, the most recent figures available, base spokesman Daryl Mayer said.

Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., estimated at least 200,000 federal contract employees nationwide earn less than $10.10 an hour today.

"I think it's an important announcement to the public that the president, at least, the administration sees wage stagnation as a serious economic problem for the country," Eisenbrey said, who urged the Obama administration to enforce payment for employees' overtime.

Stan Soloway, president and chief executive officer of the Professional Services Association in Arlington, Va., didn't think the president's executive order would have a substantial impact on defense contractors.

"The fact is that government contractors performing these services are required to pay the salaries dictated by the Department of Labor" under the Service Contract Act, which often exceed Obama's proposed change, Soloway said in a telephone interview.

He was concerned, however, the executive order "feeds a mythology" contractors treat employees unfairly. "The requirements of the federal prevailing wage laws and the government's central role in determining the definition of a fair and reasonable wage are clear and long-standing," he said in a statement. "Moreover, there is a natural concern that amid a national debate over the minimum wage, government contractors are being uniquely singled out."

At Wright-Patterson, 625 government employees, who typically worked in lower paid jobs in retail and client services, such as the base exchange, golf course, child care center, lodging and bowling alley, were paid from non-appropriated funds, or revenue drawn out of commercial sales and user activity fees.

___ (c)2014 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) Visit the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) at www.journal-news.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright of Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH) is the property of Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH). The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH), Jan 29, 2014Item: 2W61635602948

Business leaders: Minimum wage should increase, just not yet

~~~~~~~~

Barrie Barber and Michael D. Pitman

Jan. 30--The White House ordered minimum wage pay boost for federal contract employees was applauded by supporters of raising long-stagnant wages, but the mandate raised concerns among some who might have to pay the bill.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday in his State of the Union address he would issue an executive order in the coming weeks to raise the minimum wage for federal contract employees to $10.10 an hour "because if you cook our troops' meals and wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to live in poverty."

The federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 an hour, and $7.95 an hour in Ohio.

Obama has urged passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and index it to inflation in later years. U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., and U.S. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, introduced the bill that would raise the minimum wage in three incremental steps.

But Obama called upon small business owners Tuesday night to voluntarily "give America a raise."

"This will help families," he said. "It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn't involve any new bureaucratic program."

But some area business owners and leaders hesitated on raising the minimum wage by 28 percent from the current federal minimum and 21 percent over Ohio's minimum.

Todd Hall, owner of Todd Homes in Liberty Twp., said the consumer price index has been flat for the past several years, and supplies to manufacture goods have increased over the years -- and some in the housing industry as much as 300 percent.

"They want to pay more money, but the reality is there isn't more money out there to be paid," said Hall, who is also the chairman of the Butler County Republican Party.

Eventually, he said, business owners will be able to accommodate raises, but raising it 28 percent over the federal minimum is a bit much.

"The two main drivers in the economy are the housing market and auto industry, and the reality is our prices have been flatlined or reduced," Hall said. "You're not talking a two to three percent increase, you're talking a 25 percent increase."

Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kert Radel said the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation over the years, and employers can only pay what the bottom line dictates.

"There is the economic impact upon the business community. I think business owners want to do everything they can for their employees ... but they have to see what they can afford to pay," he said.

A result in raising the minimum wage could be job losses, Radel said, because employers have a fixed amount of cash for payroll.

"It's not a bad idea ... it's just a matter if middle America or Main Street USA can afford to do it on their own," he said.

And if the minimum wage is raised, and employees are not laid off, the consumers will absorb the costs, said Rick Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber Serving Middletown, Monroe and Trenton.

"They're going to put that in the price of their product," he said.

Pearce said historically minimum wage jobs are meant as stepping stones for the younger populations -- for those in high school and college -- to get acclimated into the workforce. And whether a position mandates a higher wage above minimum is determined by the market in the region.

"The market is really going to dictate your pay," Pearce said. "Employers look for the competitive rate. (Hypothetically,) the market may be lower for a job in Dayton than it is in Cincinnati."

Congressional approval would be needed to raise the federal minimum wage, but the president has the power to raise federal contract employee wages.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the largest single site employer in the state, has the most federal contract employees in the region, but the Air Force could not provide numbers on how many earn less than the targeted hourly wage. The rule would take effect in new contracts to give contractors time to price bids compensating for the higher costs, according to the Air Force.

The base had 3,447 contract employees and a $344 million payroll in fiscal year 2012, the most recent figures available, base spokesman Daryl Mayer said.

Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., estimated at least 200,000 federal contract employees nationwide earn less than $10.10 an hour today.

"I think it's an important announcement to the public that the president, at least, the administration sees wage stagnation as a serious economic problem for the country," Eisenbrey said, who urged the Obama administration to enforce payment for employees' overtime.

Stan Soloway, president and chief executive officer of the Professional Services Association in Arlington, Va., didn't think the president's executive order would have a substantial impact on defense contractors.

"The fact is that government contractors performing these services are required to pay the salaries dictated by the Department of Labor" under the Service Contract Act, which often exceed Obama's proposed change, Soloway said in a telephone interview.

He was concerned, however, the executive order "feeds a mythology" contractors treat employees unfairly. "The requirements of the federal prevailing wage laws and the government's central role in determining the definition of a fair and reasonable wage are clear and long-standing," he said in a statement. "Moreover, there is a natural concern that amid a national debate over the minimum wage, government contractors are being uniquely singled out."

At Wright-Patterson, 625 government employees, who typically worked in lower paid jobs in retail and client services, such as the base exchange, golf course, child care center, lodging and bowling alley, were paid from non-appropriated funds, or revenue drawn out of commercial sales and user activity fees.

___ (c)2014 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) Visit the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) at www.journal-news.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright of Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH) is the property of Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH). The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: Journal-News, The (Hamilton, OH), Jan 30, 2014Item: 2W61589204285

EDITORIAL: Obama touts the art of the possible

Jan. 29--The grand legislative ambitions of the hope-and-change president are a distant memory now, replaced by a more pragmatic realization of what still might be possible.

President Obama gave his sixth State of the Union address Tuesday night, hoping to reinvigorate his second term while seemingly accepting the limitations of the presidency in a deeply divided Washington. He outlined a series of executive actions designed to bypass Congress, but also urged lawmakers to join him in "a year in action."

Following months of mostly inaction in Washington, Americans should cheer that call and Obama's optimistic vision for a different approach in 2014.

Time, like bipartisanship in the Capitol, is in short supply. Lawmakers will soon be focused on the midterm elections and their own campaigns. After those results are in, the race will be on to succeed Obama, whose approval rating has fallen from 57 percent when he was re-elected to 42 percent.

In his 2013 State of the Union address, Obama lobbied Congress to take steps to boost the economic recovery and, in turn, the middle class, declaring that the nation had "cleared away the rubble of crisis." On Tuesday, he rightly emphasized those being left behind in the recovery, vowing executive measures to raise the minimum wage for new federal contracts from $7.25 to $10.10, aid the long-term unemployed and expand job-training programs.

He also again called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in seven years and index it to inflation. Obama first proposed the much-needed minimum-wage hike in his last State of the Union address, but the issue failed to gain traction on Capitol Hill.

The focus on the lower end of the economic ladder is welcome as the recovery continues to benefit those with higher incomes, leaving millions struggling to get by on stagnant wages or no wages at all. Obama's proposals to provide more job opportunities for the long-term unemployed and create a retirement savings program for those not covered by employer plans are positive steps, but they will reach a relatively small percentage of Americans and will have limited impact if incomes remain stalled.

In addition to the minimum wage, Obama asked Congress for legislative action to put limits on the National Security Agency, address gun violence, provide universal prekindergarten and reform immigration laws.

Immigration, it appears, gives the president one issue on which congressional Republicans might be ready to work with Democrats, in part because the GOP must broaden its political appeal. Obama should seize that opportunity, even if it only results in limited progress toward comprehensive reform.

In fact, much of the agenda Obama offered Tuesday was muted by political reality -- a state of affairs effectively previewed by writer David Remnick in his revealing Jan. 27 New Yorker portrait of a president coming to grips with his limitations.

"One of the things that I've learned to appreciate more as president is you are essentially a relay swimmer in a river full of rapids, and that river is history," Obama told Remnick. "You don't start with a clean slate, and the things you start may not come to full fruition on your timetable. But you can move things forward."

Despite a weak sales job and the botched rollout, Obama moved the nation toward health care for all Americans with the Affordable Care Act. And on Tuesday he rightly urged Republicans to join in improving the law instead of working to repeal it.

The president has ample time to rally the nation on the ACA, income inequality and immigration reform before leaving office in January 2017, but he'll need a willing Congress to make real progress.

The millions of Americans and would-be Americans who need access to affordable health care, economic opportunity and a path to citizenship are waiting.

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In State of the Union, Obama calls for a 'year of action'

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Will Bunch

Jan. 29--PRESIDENT OBAMAACTION HERO, Or. bad actor -- action hero, or bad actor?

More than five years after becoming America's 44th president, Obama declared in his State of the Union address last night that his sixth, 2014, would be a "year of action."

His proclamation was born partly from resolve to tackle the rising gap between America's rich and poor but mainly from his frustration over getting anything done in gridlocked Washington.

The president told Americans in the just-over-an-hour televised address that his political weapon of choice would be the pen -- that during the next 12 months he would sign executive orders as a way to address some of the country's many vexing problems. The first and possibly boldest such move, he announced, will be a steep hike in the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for private contractors winning federal work.

"In the coming months, let's see where else we can make progress together," Obama said to a chamber packed with lawmakers facing a midterm election. "Let's make this a year of action. That's what most Americans want -- for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations.

"And what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all -- the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead."

But the vibe surrounding the yearly Constitution-mandated speech was that little unites the increasingly factionalized people of this nation. The recent tradition of a brief response by the party out of power has metastasized -- thanks to the infinity of the Internet -- into a plethora of responses.

There was a plethora of "official" and unofficial responses from Obama's right -- from the mainstream GOP, the tea party and libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul. A Republican congressman from Texas named Randy Weber couldn't wait for the speech to post on Twitter: "On floor of house waitin on 'Kommandant-In-Chef' . . . the Socialistic dictator who's been feeding US a line or is it 'A-Lying?' " (Yes, he wrote "Chef.")

They questioned the wisdom of the president acting unilaterally without seeking bipartisan compromise. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state, in the official GOP response, bashed Obamacare and offered a conservative alternative that "champions free markets and trusts people to make their own decisions, not a government that decides for you."

But for the first time there was also a response from Obama's left, from Seattle's newly elected Socialist councilwoman, Kshama Sawant, who is pushing for a much higher minimum wage -- $15 an hour.

The outpouring came despite low expectations for presidential policy prescriptions: Since the majority of Obama's past State of the Union proposals have died on the vine, most because of die-hard Republican opposition.

Despite approval numbers lagging in the 40 to 45 percent range, the president sounded upbeat and bolstered his progressive base. He urged Congress to restore extended jobless benefits for 1.6 million long-term unemployed Americans, and on the environment he stated forcefully that "the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact."

He also gave a passionate defense of the Affordable Care Act, challenging Republicans to come up with a better plan to cover more Americans and protect those with pre-existing conditions if they don't like ObamaCare, as opposed to voting to repeal it more than 40 times.

But his most passionate words were devoted to income inequality. Only a few hundred thousand federal-contract workers would be affected, but the president clearly hopes that the order would give momentum to new, broader minimum-wage laws in the states and ultimately in Congress.

"This will help families," Obama said. "It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn't involve any new bureaucratic program. So join the rest of the country. Say yes. Give America a raise."

While conservatives believe that a higher minimum wage would slow hiring, liberal economists say it could reduce the income gap -- and so could other steps like increased early-childhood education and an infrastructure-based jobs program. Said Mark Price, a labor economist with the left-leaning Keystone Research Center of the limited wage hike: "It's symbolism -- but it's symbolism in the right direction."

Other new executive-action initiatives -- like higher fuel-efficiency standards for trucks -- spoke to a president feeling the weight of political limitations, even with three years left in his administration.

His words fell in the shadow of Lyndon Johnson's historic State of the Union speech exactly 50 years ago promising that 1964 would be "the session which declared all-out war on human poverty and unemployment."

Five decades later, Obama faces the same problems -- indeed, long-term unemployment is much worse -- while lacking hope that Congress would consider sweeping bills like the historic anti-poverty programs that LBJ rammed though Capitol Hill.

On Twitter: @Will_Bunch

Blog: ph.ly/Attytood.com

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Inside The State Of The Union: What The President Proposed.

STEVE INSKEEP: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE: And I'm Renee Montagne.

This morning we've been hearing highlights of President Obama's State of the Union Address. Over the next few minutes we want to dig into the specifics. We gathered in our studio a group of NPR correspondents to put into context some of what the president said last night. We'll start with an announcement that was expected, involving raising the minimum wage for a few Americans.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRESIDENT: In the coming weeks, I will issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour, because if you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you should not have to live in poverty.

MONTAGNE: Tamara Keith covers the White House for NPR. And Tamara, first off, how many people is the president talking about here?

TAMARA KEITH: We don't know. That's the honest answer. We don't know how many. House Speaker John Boehner suggested that it would be somewhere close to zero. And the reason we don't know, and the reason why it could be a low number - other estimates put it at more like a couple hundred thousand - is that this applies only to new federal contracts. Not current contracts, not current employees of these contractors.

But if a new contract is negotiated, it would apply to those employees. And we don't know really how many of those are outstanding or when these contracts might be negotiated, which is why there are a lot of details to fill in here.

MONTAGNE: Well, the president talked about other ways in which the minimum wage has been raised around the country that didn't involve Congress. But as he himself put it, Congress needs to get on board if millions are to be reached.

KEITH: That would be true. Some states have raised their minimum wages. He also pointed to employers who have decided to pay their employees more than the minimum wage, even though they don't have to. So he's trying a lot of different options, also try to put a little pressure on Congress to raise the minimum wage as well - but that seems like it's not going to happen anytime soon.

House Republicans are just absolutely not interested in raising the minimum wage, in part because they believe that it hurts businesses and by extension low-wage employees.

MONTAGNE: Let's turn now to look at another area where, to make a difference, Congress and the president have to come together.


PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: When people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody. So let's get immigration reform done this year.

MONTAGNE: Immigration reform, it's been a tough one. And this year the president framed his call for immigration reform in economic terms.

Joining us is NPR congressional correspondent David Welna, and what about that?

DAVID WELNA: Well, Renee, you know, he said that having some kind of immigration overhaul could lead to a trillion dollars in both economic growth and deficit reduction over the next 20 years. That works out to be about a billion dollars a week. But I think the real point was that doing this would benefit everybody and not just immigrants, there's something in it for all of us.

MONTAGNE: And in fact, there does seem to be momentum building for some sort of reform.

WELNA: There does in the House. It wasn't unclear that anything was going to happen as late as late last year. But suddenly it seems that House speaker John Boehner has a new resolve to get something done this election year. And in fact House Republicans are going off to a three-day retreat today, where they will be presented with a plan that even mentions the possibility of legal status for millions of people who are here without authorization. And it would go so far as to grant citizenship for the children who were brought illegally by their parents.

Now, this goes a lot farther than Republicans have gone in the past. It's a very divisive issue for their party. And there are some Republicans who are saying don't do it, it could screw things up for the election. But I think President Obama was trying to tread lightly with this and let the Republicans do it on their own and not squeeze the bar too tightly lest it slip out.

MONTAGNE: Well, in fact this goes to the overall theme of the president's speech, which was opportunity, and to that end Mr. Obama talked about the opportunity for a good education in what might be called his trademark program.


OBAMA: Race to the Top, with the help of governors from both parties, has helped states raise expectations and performance.

MONTAGNE: We've brought in education correspondent Claudio Sanchez. And Claudio, does everyone agree that the Race to the Top has been a great success?

CLAUDIO SANCHEZ: No.

MONTAGNE: In a word.

SANCHEZ: Although - no, in a word. Although I have to say there was polite agreement and scattered praise from teachers unions, school board officials and public education advocates in the reaction to the president's comments. But in the trenches, most educators resent that the president's education policies have been used as a carrot and stick, distributing billions of dollars to states on the condition that they adopt reforms prescribed by the administration, like adopting career and college-ready standards, shutting down failing schools, performance pay for teachers, and tying teacher evaluations to kids' test scores.

All highly controversial, all generating lots of pushback from teachers, parents, groups opposed to more testing, and community activists who say their neighborhood schools are being shut down and replaced by privately run charter schools, or what some call the privatization of public education. So there is a lot of work that the president has to do in the coming year to mend these relationships with key groups.

MONTAGNE: And that was part of a speech that, for the most part last night, was domestic. But not all domestic. President Obama touched on a few challenging areas of foreign policy, including Syria and Iran, but he got sustained applause when he said this.


OBAMA: More than 60,000 of our troops have already come home from Afghanistan. With Afghan forces now in the lead for their own security, our troops have moved to a support role. Together with our allies, we will complete our mission there by the end of this year and America's longest war will finally be over.

MONTAGNE: NPR's national security editor Bruce Auster is here in the studio. And Bruce, combat operations will be over by 2014, the end of the year, but the president also said a small force could remain behind to train and advise Afghan forces and pursue al-Qaida, so the war's not quite over.

BRUCE AUSTER: That's right. The end of the year means that the 37,000 troops who are there now, that number comes way down, and so the combat mission ends. But the question that remains is how

many stay behind. And if the United States and Afghanistan sign a security agreement, and there's a big if there about whether that happens, then the question becomes how many troops stay.

The Pentagon wants 10,000 troops to remain because they want to do two missions. They want to do a counterterrorism mission and they want to be able to train Afghan forces. That's the number they say they need. There are people in the White House who want a smaller number. And this raises, again, the question, the tension between security and politics. Politically, people just want this over.

But to get out properly and not leave the place in chaos may require keeping troops behind.

MONTAGNE: And beyond Afghanistan, the president repeated his hopes to end what he calls the state of permanent war that we've been in since 9/11.

AUSTER: That's right. It's a theme he's raised before. It's the idea that the war on terror has gone all these years, how does it ever end and does it ever end? The legacies of the war on terror are things like Guantanamo, the surveillance program we've heard a lot about in the news, the drone policy. The question is, if the war ever ends, how do those specific policies change? And with things like Guantanamo, we've learned over the years how hard it is to close that place.

Each of these policies poses challenges in terms of how the president winds it down.

MONTAGNE: That's national security editor Bruce Auster. We were also joined by education correspondent Claudio Sanchez, David Welna, our congressional correspondent and White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Thanks to all of you for joining us.

KEITH: Thank you.

WELNA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: You're welcome.

MONTAGNE: And they were breaking down some of what we heard from President Obama last night in his fifth State of the Union speech before Congress. We have more reaction to the president's address elsewhere in the program.

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Life on minimum wage is not a decent living.

Doreen works in a growth industry. She is a personal support worker; you and I will turn to her when we are old or otherwise infirm and have no family to support us. Without her, some of us would be sunk.

But Doreen makes minimum wage, and she can barely keep her head above water.

She is single. She is in her '50s. She has a bum knee and a bad back. She also has some trouble with her vision; a brain tumour, benign, she isn't worried.

I'd be terrified.

If you've been paying attention lately, you know there will be a raise of the minimum wage at some point, perhaps to $11 per hour.

If you think 75¢ is going to make a difference in her life, here's some useful background:

She lives in a rent-geared-to-income apartment in midtown Toronto. While we talked, she was waiting for her church to deliver a grocery voucher so she could afford to buy some groceries. Why?

Because Doreen can't always afford to feed herself on the money she makes for the hours she gets.

She said, "If I don't make enough, I call the church; not every month." Not every month? That almost makes it worse.

If she's lucky - I remind you that she's on call - Doreen puts in a nine-hour day, four days a week, taking care of her clients. And, oh, her work is not all peaches and cream, lace curtains and cups of tea.

She said, "I have this client. She was diagnosed with cancer. She lost an eye. She went into remission. Three weeks ago, she lost her sight completely. I feed her because she can't see.

"Her husband is in his '70s. He has dementia. He's telling her that she is faking it. He yells at her. I'm not used to that.

"She likes me, but when he's upset - sometimes he can't tell day from night - he doesn't like me. She could go to palliative care, but she wants to stay at home as long as she can.

"I wash her, I give her a shower. I prepare meals, I feed her, I make beds, I change linen, I do the garbage, I cook." These are not the most intimate tasks Doreen performs, and here you may use your imagination.

She seemed uneasy as we talked. Why? "I don't feel comfortable; some people don't know I make minimum wage." That is why I am protecting her name.

She has done all sorts of jobs to try to make a living. "I've cleaned public washrooms, I've done telemarketing, I worked in a grocery store."

She is a good, hard worker. She is also a responsible adult; whatever she does to earn a living ought to provide her with enough to make a life.

Consider the numbers at this moment. If she works the full four days a week, nine hours a day, then she clears $1,240 per month.

Her rent is subsidized; she pays $592 a month, which leaves her with $648. A Metropass costs her $133. Her phone costs close to $20. She buys phone cards to talk to her mother, who lives in another country. Her cable and Internet cost $68 a month.

She also owes $900 on her credit card; yes, she sometimes uses her credit card for food.

She also takes certain medications which are not covered by the provincial health plan. "I had a knee replacement. My back is out. I still have to work. Sometimes I go without pain medication because I can't afford it." I repeat: She sometimes goes without her pain medication because she can't always afford it.

I don't know what the minimum wage should be, but if you think a raise of 75¢ an hour is going to make her life any better, think again.

Joe Fiorito appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. [email protected]

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Local congressman says president short on specific solutions

~~~~~~~~

Shea Johnson

Jan. 30--WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Paul Cook said on Wednesday that while he agreed with some of the broad themes included in President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday evening, Obama's speech was short on specific solutions to problems, including the "most important issue" facing Cook's constituents in the High Desert.

"The economy isn't growing fast enough to help the unemployed," Cook wrote in an email to the Daily Press. "Hundreds of thousands of people have to simply give up looking for work."

The unemployment rate in San Bernardino County slid half a percent last month to 8.7 percent, according to the state Employment Development Department, and dropped nationally to 6.7 percent -- its lowest since October 2008. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the apparent good news was skewed by 347,000 people no longer looking for work.

"Interestingly, a broader measure of unemployment that also captures people who have given up looking for a job ... didn't budge," the newspaper reported.

Cook, R-Yucca Valley, wrote that lawmakers should be focused on creating jobs, saying there was no evidence that passing an across-the-board hike in federal minimum wage would accomplish that. While Obama will sign an executive order in the coming weeks, which will increase the hourly wage for new federal contractors from $7.25 to $10.10, he'll need Congress in order to extend that increase to all of America's workers.

"I'm concerned about taking a blanket one-size-fits-all approach to the minimum wage," Cook wrote. "Not every problem has a federal solution. Should California have the same minimum wage as North Dakota?"

Cook was also critical of Obama's suggestion that he would sidestep Congress whenever necessary to narrow economic disparities between America's rich and poor. Instead, Cook called for a bipartisanship approach to "achieve goals for the American people."

Yet, the Affordable Care Act -- a hot topic on Tuesday -- has had difficulty garnering such bipartisan support, and Obama has urged Republicans to give up relentless attempts to repeal it. Asked if there was any indication among lawmakers who oppose the act that they're fighting a losing battle, Cook responded that he "can't ignore the harm that (it) has done to health care and to our working families."

He wrote that he supports initiatives allowing Americans to keep their existing health plans and alternatives to ACA which grant tax deductions to Americans and allows them to choose their plan.

"Unlike supporters of Obamacare," he wrote, "I believe that working families, not Washington, know what sort of health insurance they need."

Federal authorities said recently that Obama's signature healthcare program has signed up roughly 3,000,000 Americans, NBCNews.com reported.

Cook sounded off on the National Security Administration as well, saying he supported a bill that blocks funding for NSA surveillance of American citizens.

The NSA scandals "continue to be a huge area of concern to me," he wrote. They have "no business snooping into everyone's phone and email records."

Obama, during Tuesday's address, called for an overhaul of U.S. surveillance programs and limiting use of drones in foreign countries.

___

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

___

Shea Johnson may be reached at 760-955-5368 or [email protected].

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'Make this a year of action'

Obama pledges to help middle class without CongressSection: News, Pg. 01a

President Obama started his sixth year in the White House on Tuesday with a pledge to aid America's struggling middle class -- by working with Congress or going around it.

Stymied for much of the last three years by Republican opposition and facing more of the same, Obama delivered a State of the Union Address that highlighted a series of executive actions to boost wages, reduce inequality and spur upward mobility.

"America does not stand still, and neither will I," Obama said. "So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do."

The president outlined initiatives designed to have populist appeal, such as raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for federal contract employees and creating new "starter savings accounts" for those without retirement plans at work. "Let's make this a year of action," he said.

In the Republican response, House GOP Conference chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., criticized Obama's economic and health care policies.

"We hope the president will join us in a year of real action by empowering people, not making their lives harder with unprecedented spending, higher taxes and fewer jobs," she said.

With the next round of elections barely nine months away, Obama was realistic about the chances for compromise. Still, he held out hope for a bill giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship and an extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed.

At the same time, he taunted Republicans about the "40-something" votes they have held to repeal his health care law. "If you have specific plans to cut costs, cover more people and increase choice, tell America what you'd do differently," he said.

While his focus was on creating prosperity, the president also outlined his plans for peace: winding down the war in Afghanistan, eliminating Syria's chemical weapons -- and reaching a deal with Iran over its nuclear development program. He threatened to veto any effort to derail those talks.

"For the sake of our national security," he said, "we must give diplomacy a chance to succeed."

(c) USA TODAY, 2014

Source: USA Today, JAN 29, 2014Item: J0E346218220514

President Obama praises Punch Pizza for raising its minimum wage

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Corey Mitchell

Jan. 29--WASHINGTON -- President Obama praised one of the Twin Cities' favorite pizzerias during his State of the Union address.

Punch Pizza founder and co-owner John Soranno and kitchen worker Nick Chute attended Tuesday's State of the Union address as guests of First Lady Michelle Obama -- a month after all eight of Punch's Twin Cities' locations raised the minimum wage for employees to $10 an hour.

In prepared remarks, President Obama said: "In the year since I asked this Congress to raise the minimum wage, five states have passed laws to raise theirs. Many businesses have done it on their own. Nick Chute is here tonight with his boss, John Soranno. John's an owner of Punch Pizza in Minneapolis, and Nick helps make the dough. Only now he makes more of it: John just gave his employees a raise, to 10 bucks an hour -- and that's a decision that has eased their financial stress and boosted their morale.

"Tonight, I ask more of America's business leaders to follow John's lead: Do what you can to raise your employees' wages."

Punch Pizza's announcement came Dec. 10, the same day that thousands of workers took to the streets in cities across the country to rally for a raise in the minimum wage.

The Twin Cities-based company's decision to boost pay for its 300 workers encapsulated one of the narratives of Obama's speech: boosting middle-class prosperity.

Soranno, a St. Paul resident, founded Punch Pizza in 1996.

A recent University of Minnesota graduate and a Minneapolis resident, Chute started working at Punch Pizza about 18 months ago, the White House said. He is a cook now, but hopes to move into management.

"Our decision had nothing to do with politics," said co-owner John Puckett. "That's what makes the recognition by the president and first lady such an honor. Punch made the decision to give raises purely based on what is best for our business and our employees."

Corey Mitchell is a correspondent in the Star Tribune Washington Bureau. Twitter: @C_C_Mitchell

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President's call for strengthening middle class resounds with Pingree, Michaud

~~~~~~~~

Kevin Miller

Jan. 29--Several members of Maine's congressional delegation on Tuesday praised President Obama's focus on strengthening the middle class and restoring opportunities for low-income Americans to climb out of poverty.

Obama hit various themes popular with the Democratic base in his State of the Union speech, calling on Congress to increase the minimum wage and overhaul immigration laws but also vowing to use the powers of the executive branch in the absence of legislative action.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-District 1, said in a statement that Obama "laid out concrete proposals that will benefit average, hard-working families." Pingree was especially pleased that the president reiterated his call to increase minimum wage, echoing a Democratic priority headed into the 2014 congressional elections.

Maine's minimum wage is currently $7.50 an hour, 25 cents higher than the federal minimum.

"Increasing the minimum wage will mean more money in the pockets of families across Maine, money that will then be spent at local businesses, creating and supporting local jobs," Pingree said. "Not only will it improve life for families making minimum wage but it have an immediate effect that will be felt throughout the economy."

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud also praised the president's minimum wage proposal, saying workers need to be made a national priority.

"We need to raise the minimum wage because work should pay," Michaud said in a statement. "Families should be able to make ends meet and not fall into poverty if they put in a full day's work--period."

But Michaud, a 2nd District Democrat who is running for governor this year, took issue with the Obama administration's trade policy.

The president made a passing reference to two major free trade deals under negotiation and urged Congress to authorize the administration to fast-track those deals "to protect our workers, protect our environment and open new markets to new goods stamped 'Made in the USA.'"

Michaud has been a vocal critic of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal that the White House is finalizing with nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Our trade agreements over the past two decades have contributed greatly to the outsourcing of the middle class, and Democratic and Republican presidents are to be blamed equally," Michaud said in a statement. "But there are things that can be done to help turn the tide. We can ensure that the American people have more of a say in our trade agreements, which until now have been negotiated behind closed doors with only giant multinationals corporations at the table."

On the House floor, nearly all Democrats as well as Maine Sen. Angus King -- an independent who caucuses with the Democrats -- enthusiastically applauded the president's minimum wage comments but Sen. Susan Collins and her Republican colleagues did not.

Responses from Collins and King were not immediately available.

In his address, Obama said that "upward mobility has stalled" across the country as rising corporate profits and stock prices led to record earnings for those "at the top" while "average wages have barely budged."

Maine's income gap is smaller than the national average but has outpaced some states in recent years. Between 2008 and 2012, the state moved from having the 11th smallest income gap to the 15th smallest, according to federal statistics.

At the same time, many Mainers have seen their wages stagnate or their paychecks' buying power weaken. The median household income in the state fell 2.4 percent -- from $50,363 to $49,158 -- from 2008 to 2012, after adjusting for inflation. Nationally, household incomes fell 4.9 percent during that time, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Other statistics underscore that while segments of Maine's economy have improved, the recovery has yet to reach all families.

The percent of Mainers living under the federal poverty line rose from 12.4 percent in 2008 to 14.7 percent in 2012. Maine's unemployment rate, meanwhile, stood at 6.2 percent in December, lower than the 6.7 percent national average and 1 percentage point lower than Maine's rate one year earlier.

The president announced that Vice President Joe Biden will lead an effort to reform to make sure they are better preparing unemployed workers to fill the skilled jobs that companies have vacant. Specifically, he said his administration would push for more on-the-job training, young worker apprenticeships and formal links between companies and community colleges.

That's a message likely to draw bipartisan support, including in Maine where Republican Gov. Paul LePage has made job training a high priority. Maine business owners and labor officials said that even during the deepest depths of the recession, there were not enough high-skilled workers to fill empty jobs.

He also called on Congress to restore unemployment benefits for individuals who have been jobless for 6 months or longer. Roughly 4,700 Maine residents lost unemployment benefits this month after Congress allowed the program to lapse.

He also urged Congress to work with him to pay for lower corporate tax rates by eliminating tax loopholes and incentives for companies to send jobs overseas.

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President's call to raise minimum wage felt by Pittsburgh residents

~~~~~~~~

Ann Belser

Jan. 30--President Barack Obama was clear in the State of the Union address on Tuesday that he would like to see the minimum wage raised to $10.10 an hour.

Tieara McIntosh would like to see the same thing.

The Northview Heights resident, who turns 22 on Friday, works full time at a McDonald's restaurant. She started working there three years ago and now makes $7.50 an hour after receiving a raise.

"Today the federal minimum wage is worth about 20 percent less than it was when Ronald Reagan first stood here," Mr. Obama said during his speech to Congress. He noted that Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Richmond, Calif., have a bill to change that.

"This will help families, it will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It does not involve any new bureaucratic program. So join the rest of the county. Say 'Yes.' Give America a raise."

The federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour as it has since July 24, 2009. Though 21 states have set their own higher levels, none are as high as $10 an hour. The highest is in Washington state where the $9.32-an-hour rate is tied to the consumer price index.

Last year in the State of the Union address, Mr. Obama called for rasing the minimum wage to $9 an hour and attaching future increases to the cost of living. Congress took no action on the proposal.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., has opposed minimum wage hikes, saying they hurt small businesses. "Small employers often have to operate under very slim profit margins and will have the hardest time absorbing these higher labor costs. They will have to find more revenues or trim costs to make up the difference," said Randy Johnson, senior vice president of labor, immigration, and employee benefits.

"While raising the minimum wage may help some low-wage workers who retain their jobs, it will lead to less job creation and higher unemployment that falls disproportionately on the weakest segments of society, those with few skills and lower training," he said.

Others see the potential outcome of a minimum wage hike differently.

Doug Hall, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said many small businesses will see an increase in customers because low-wage workers will have money to spend.

"Low-income folks are living so close to the edge that every dollar you put into their hands goes right back into the local economy," he said.

The Economic Analysis and Research Network has estimated that raising the minimum wage would provide $35 billion to workers nationally and $1.6 billion in Pennsylvania, with added spending by those workers resulting in 85,000 new jobs nationally with 3,800 of them in Pennsylvania.

As the debate swirls, workers like Ms. McIntosh keep doing their jobs.

Ms. McIntosh, who has a 2-year-old son, Elijah, works 40 hours a week Monday through Friday while her son is in the care of his grandmothers. The boy's father is incarcerated. In addition to relying on childcare help from her relatives, Ms. McIntosh gets by because her housing is subsidized, her health care is provided by the state, and she and her son qualify for food stamps.

She did not finish high school, which she admits was a mistake, but said she would expect that by working a full-time job she should be able to afford a place to live. "I don't want to be living in the projects all of my life," she said.

Wednesday afternoon, at the U.S. Steel plant in West Mifflin, Mr. Obama noted, "Women hold the majority of lower-wage jobs."

The president also said, "Americans overwhelmingly agree that nobody who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty."

He said such people should be able to raise their kids and pay the rent.

Ms. McIntosh, who travels an hour each way on the bus to her job, hopes to someday wear a "manager's shirt," which comes with a raise in pay. She said her chances of promotion are low because her childcare is limited to weekdays, so she needs to care for Elijah on the weekends.

"Dealing with the customers, that's not easy," she said. "I would be happy with $10 an hour -- $15 would be better -- but I would appreciate $10."

Ann Belser: [email protected] or 412-263-1699.

___ (c)2014 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) is the property of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA). The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), Jan 30, 2014Item: 2W61572398191

Reaction to State of the Union falls on partisan lines

Jan. 30--LIMA -- The region's s Republican representatives weren't impressed with President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, while the state's Democratic senator described it as "an important blueprint."

"President Obama missed a great opportunity to humbly engage both Congress and the American people with new ideas about how to turn our economy around," U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said in a statement after the speech. "Instead, he went back to the same old arrogant Washington playbook that for the past five years has failed to help create the jobs families in Ohio need."

Jordan, whose district includes Lima, expressed concerns about the president's plans to use his executive authority in some cases to push his plans.

"Even worse, now the President has signaled that rather than working with Republicans on bipartisan solutions, he plans to 'go around' Congress and push his agenda through executive orders, which is all the more reason why the American people need to stand up and make their voices heard in order to bring more balance of power to Washington," Jordan said.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who as a Democrat is in the same party as the president, saw the speech quite differently. He heralded efforts to increase the federal minimum wage, extend emergency unemployment insurance and push innovations in manufacturing and training for dislocated workers.

"Tonight's speech provided an important blueprint to grow our economy by growing the middle class," Brown said in a statement. "The President's Executive Order to raise the minimum wage for employees of new federal contact will be strengthened by The Fair Minimum Wage Act, which we must pass to give nearly 1.3 million Ohioans a raise. President Obama also called on Congress to pass my bipartisan bill to create a network of manufacturing innovation hubs based on Youngstown's America Makes."

U.S. Rep. Robert Latta, whose district includes Putnam and Van Wert counties, said he'd hoped to hear more about reigning in government spending.

"The American people want real solutions," Latta said in a statement. "The tax and spend policies of the Obama Administration are not helping turn our economy around. Our small businesses -- not the federal government -- are this country's engine of job growth. We must remove unnecessary regulations, eliminate wasteful spending and invest in industries that will grow our economy and create jobs, so we can get the American people back to work."

The speech impressed John Miller, of Fort Wayne, Ind., who wrote on The Lima News' Facebook page.

"Obama gave a really good speech," Miller said. "No matter what he says, he gets criticized. However, we are much better off than when he became president."

___ (c)2014 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) Visit The Lima News (Lima, Ohio) at www.limaohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright of Lima News, The (OH) is the property of Lima News, The (OH). The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: Lima News, The (OH), Jan 30, 2014Item: 2W667205687

Sherrod Brown: Obama Made A 'Strong Case' For Minimum Wage Raise.

AUDIE CORNISH: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL: And I'm Robert Siegel.

Now, reaction to President Obama's State of the Union address last night from a prominent progressive Democrat. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio is very much of the liberal wing of his party and he joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Hi, welcome to the program once again.

SENATOR SHERROD BROWN: Yes, Robert, thank you. That would be the mainstream of the Democratic Party...

(LAUGHTER)

SIEGEL: OK...

BROWN: ...which is the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, but thank you.

SIEGEL: You have been a champion and sponsor of raising the minimum wage. The president spoke in favor of that and promised to do what he can by executive order for federal contract employees. Was that speech sufficiently strong on issues of social and economic justice for you, or could you have stood some more?

BROWN: Oh, I could have stood some more but I think it was strong. I think the president made the case that minimum wage, it's - over the years, it's been generally done bipartisan and last time, 2007, with President Bush signing the bill. And the minimum wage - purchasing power of minimum wage has declined by a third since 1968. The president used a bit more recent statistic. But he also made the case that increasing the minimum wage helps the economy writ large, and that's the case we make. It's right for those families and it's right for our economy.

SIEGEL: On trade policy, President Obama said when 98 percent of our exporters are small businesses, new trade partnerships with Europe and the Asia-Pacific will help them create more jobs. And he spoke of a bipartisan trade promotion authority to protect American workers. But are you hearing from the White House a trade policy that's too pro-business for your liking?

BROWN: I'm hearing from the White House a trade policy that's shown itself to have failed. I think our trade policy has been anti-business. It's hurt small companies. It's hurt communities. It's curious about our trade policy. We've passed NAFTA. Congress passes PNTR with China passes CAFTA. Our trade deficit grows and our policymakers, unfortunately presidents in both parties say: Well, let's do more trade agreements - as if each time you do a trade agreement it doesn't make things worse.

This president, I give credit for good trade enforcement. We've grown jobs in places like Finley, in Cleveland, Ohio, and Youngstown, Ohio, because of the president and a bunch of us have fought for enforcing trade rules. But these new trade agreements - whether it's the Asia-Pacific, whether it's starting with fast-track - they don't serve our country well. And I think more and more Americans - the Congress is starting to catch up with the American people that these trade agreements really do undercut the middle-class and undercut American workers and small businesses.

SIEGEL: One other issue, on immigration, the president did not set out any red lines that would describe a bill as unacceptable, if it actually comes out of the House of Representatives. If an immigration bill does come out of the House that does not offer a path to citizenship, but rather a path to a legalized non-citizen status for workers who are undocumented, is that a nonstarter for you? Will Senate Democrats block such a bill?

BROWN: I don't know. I think we are all incur - I mean I want to a path to citizenship, for sure, as I think most Senate Democrats overwhelming number do. I also am encouraged by speaker Boehner saying he wants to move on immigration. As you know, in the legislative process, when the waters are roiled and you end up working through things, we can see a conference committee where I think path the citizenship could actually be a reality.

And the question ultimately is does John Boehner want to be speaker of the Tea Party or does he want to be speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and bring Democrats and Republicans together - together - and fight for an immigration policy that works for Americans. And ultimately I hope ends up with a path to citizenship.

SIEGEL: When I said you're of the progressive wing, the liberal wing, you said that is the mainstream wing of the Democratic Party. On issues like trade or like surveillance, are there sufficiently big fissures that we could see, you know, an important intra-party debated before 2016 before a presidential candidate is nominated by the Democrats?

BROWN: Yeah, I may have erred in that first statement when I said that I'm from the mainstream of the Democratic Party. I think I'm from the mainstream of the country when you look at what America wants to do on minimum wage, on extension of unemployment, on a more prudent foreign policy, on trade agreements that work for the middle-class and working-class. So I don't see major divisions in the Democratic Party.

I think Democrats are pretty much in the same place on all these issues from immigration to minimum wage to foreign policy. So I look forward in making that contrast between progressives, where most

Democrats in the Senate and in the country are, and of far right policy that seems to have kind of captured the imagination and the day-to-day machinations of the Republican Party.

SIEGEL: Senator Brown, thanks for talking with us today.

BROWN: Always. Thank you, Robert.

SIEGEL: That's Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio.

Copyright of All Things Considered (NPR) is the property of National Public Radio, Inc. The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: All Things Considered (NPR), 01/29/2014Item: 6XN201401292005

Workers applaud Obama's wage move

~~~~~~~~

Margot Roosevelt

Jan. 29--Damian Medina, 21, counts on his part-time job as a data entry operator for an Orange County federal contractor to pay his rent and food.

So the Chapman University junior, who makes $8.50 an hour, is among those applauding President Barack Obama's new executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour.

"I'm on the fringe right now," said Medina, who works about 20 hours a week for Allied Modular Building Systems in Orange and finds it hard to make ends meet. The Obama order "is awesome because it gives people a chance to make a better wage."

Obama's executive order comes as Democrats' effort to raise the overall federal minimum to $10.10 has stalled in Congress. Republicans have so far blocked an increase, saying it could harm business and slow job growth.

A 2013 survey of 567 workers in federally contracted service jobs found that 74 percent earn less than $10 an hour. According to the National Employment Law Project, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that conducted the survey, 20 percent of those workers reported depending on Medicaid for health care and 14 percent on federal food stamps.

However, the rise in the minimum wage for new federal contracts would affect fewer workers in Orange County than in lower-wage areas of the nation such as the South.

Most Orange County workers on federal projects already make at least $10.10 an hour because federal law requires contractors to pay a federally determined "prevailing" wage in the counties where they are located.

"In some occupations and especially in nonunion regions of the country, the prevailing rates can be very low," said Paul Sonn, a NELP attorney. "For example, the prevailing wage rate for a residential construction laborer in Alabama is just $7.25 -- the federal minimum wage. The president's executive order will raise them all to at least $10.10."

States can set higher minimum wages than the federal level. Under state law, California workers must be paid at least $8 an hour, which will rise to $9 an hour in July, and to $10 in January 2016.

The boost in Obama's executive order "won't directly affect us," said Marc Redoutey, director of operations at Anaheim's Shamrock Supply Co., which has a $114,000 contract to distribute tools and hardware to the General Services Administration.

The company's lowest-paid employees, warehouse workers, make $13 an hour, he added, and truck drivers can make $20.

John Lee, president of Penn Air Control in Cypress, which has an $85,800 federal contract to service heating and air conditioning systems in federal buildings, said his lowest paid entry-level workers -- who clean the grease from kitchen exhaust ducts -- already earn about $10 an hour.

The lowest hourly prevailing wage minimums for Orange County, set by the federal labor department, include such occupations as waiter/waitress ($9.85), parking lot attendant ($9.39) and school crossing guard ($9.51).

In many other states, however, those jobs pay less, even under federal contracts.

"The government needs to change the way contracts are awarded," said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington group which has studied federal contracting.

"Taxpayer funds should not be used to create an ever larger workforce that is unable to escape poverty and support a decent standard of living."

Contact the writer: [email protected] and on Twitter @MargotRoosevelt

___ (c)2014 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) Visit The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) at www.ocregister.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

Copyright of Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA) is the property of Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA). The copyright in an individual article may be maintained by the author in certain cases. Content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.Source: Orange County Register, The (Santa Ana, CA), Jan 29, 2014Item: 2W61985546758

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