President Obama traveled to Connecticut Wednesday to call for a raise in the federal minimum wage. The president wants to raise the wage by nearly $3 an hour.
Obama spoke to an arena packed with students at Central Connecticut State University. He was joined by Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and the governors of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut - four states that have already increased their minimum wages beyond the federal baseline.
The president said he understands that some people will make more money than others.
“What we also believe that nobody who works fulltime should ever have to raise a family in poverty,” he said.
Obama said low wage workers aren’t expecting to get rich.
“But they do feel like if they’re putting in back-breaking work every day, that at least, at the end of the month, they can pay the bills,” he said. “I know that’s right.”
Not everyone agrees. A spokesman for the National Federation of Independent Business said the plan would inflate labor costs, result in fewer jobs, and create higher consumer prices.
