WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama promoted his effort to raise the minimum wage Friday, declaring in a meeting with Democratic governors that higher pay is not only “good policy. It also happens to be good politics.”
Gathering with Democratic allies at the White House, Obama sought to build momentum to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2016, part of a larger aim to address income inequality between the wealthy and the poor.
The president said many Democratic governors had outlined plans of their own to increase the minimum wage, citing recent pushes by the governors of Hawaii, Washington state, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois.
“This is not just good policy. It also happens to be good politics,” Obama said. “Because the truth of the matter is the overwhelming majority of Americans think that raising the minimum wage is a good idea.”
Taking a veiled swipe at a prominent Republican, Obama said wages were increased in New Jersey by public referendum, even though it was opposed by New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Democrats have assailed Christie in recent weeks over a political-payback scandal that has engulfed his administration.
Republicans have opposed increasing the minimum wage, asserting it will kill jobs. GOP leaders seized upon a report earlier this week by Congress’ nonpartisan budget analysts that found the wage increase could reduce jobs in 2016 by about 500,000, or 0.3 percent.
Republican governors gathered at a hotel near the White House suggested raising the minimum wage was an issue better left to the individual states and the free market.
“I’m not for increasing the minimum wage because I’m concerned it would destroy jobs, especially for small-business owners,” said Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, the chairman of the National Governors Association.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, also a Republican, wouldn’t say whether he supported Obama’s proposal.
“My focus is on getting jobs that pay more than minimum wage,” he said, citing a state program that helps create jobs that pay $11.50 an hour and new trade jobs that pay more than $50,000 a year. “I’m working on that.”
Fallin said she wasn’t worried about political fallout from Republican opposition to a higher minimum wage, despite polls that show most Americans support the president’s plan.
The Senate is expected to debate a minimum-wage bill next month that would increase the current $7.25 an hour minimum wage in three increments to $10.10 by 2016, with annual increases reflecting inflation after that. The Congressional Budget Office report released Tuesday found that without any adjustments to the minimum wage, about 45 million Americans are expected to live below the poverty line in 2016.
Democrats said raising the minimum wage would boost consumer spending, which would help local economies.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said he recently asked his state economist why the state had not experienced as much economic growth as desired despite the presence of major companies such as Amazon and Boeing.
“Their answer was clear; it’s because we have a drag in our economy because of low-wage jobs that are not creating consumers who can go out and create the demand we need,” Inslee said.
He said raising the minimum wage would “remove that anchor” on the economy.
The meeting with Obama came at the start of a weekend gathering of most of the nation’s governors for the annual National Governors Association meeting.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/22/2014