Obama visits V
Jackie Starkey
jstarkey@unca.edu - News Editor
Following his State of the Union ad
dress, President Barack Obama vis
ited Asheville last Wednesday to reit
erate plans to raise the minimum wage
and make manufacturing a priority in
western North Carolina and beyond.
“Our job as Americans is to restore
the basic bargain that says if you work
hard, if you are willing to meet your
responsibilities, you can get ahead,”
Obama said in his address at Linaraar
manufacturing plant.
The president’s visit fell a day after
he announced his plans to see the rrtini-
mum wage increased nationally to $9,
up from North Carolina’s $7.25, which
is on par with the national average ac
cording to the U.S. Department of La
bor.
“That’s what we should be focused
on,” Obama said on Wednesday. “How
do we make sure that people who are
willing to work hard can make a decent
living and look after their family?”
Obama said the effort to provide for
middle class families and improve the
nation’s economy starts with the aggre
gation of home-grown industry.
“There are three things we should
be asking. Number one - how do we
bring more jobs to America? Number
two - how do we equip people with the
skills they need to do those jobs? And
number three - how do we make sure
that once they have a job, it leads to a
decent living?” Obama said.
The president said while corpoi
America experiences great finam
growth, an increase in the minim
wage would lessen the socio-econoi
divide and provide some relief to
sure provision for the middle class.
“I believe we reward effort and dei
mination with wages that allow wo
ing families to raise their kids and
ahead,” Obama said. “It’s time for
increase in the minimum wage, beca
if you work full-time, you shouldn’t
in poverty.”
The president proposed to enact
wage increase by 2015, providin;
better minimum income for more tl
15 million Americans, according to
Obama Administration.
Republicans previously oppo
minimum wage reform on the b
that companies will no longer seek
hire candidates with lower skill set.'
less educational experience. Oba
first proposed a minimum wage
crease in 2008, hoping to see work
making $9.50 an hour by 2011.
Obama said better opportunities
American laborers will be a top prio
in Washington, D.C., for the durat
of his presidency.
“The true engine of America’s e
nomic growth has always been
middle class,” Obama said. “(
middle class when it’s growing, w]
it’s thriving, when there are ladders
opportunity for people to do a little
better each year and then make s