Obama: Raising the minimum wage is ‘common sense’

By Hugh McQuaid

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – President Barack Obama is unlikely to get a hike in the minimum wage through Congress, but he encouraged states and businesses to take the lead during a half-hour speech Wednesday at Central Connecticut State University.

Costco, Gap, and even Cafe Beauregard in New Britain — where the president ate lunch Wednesday — have increased their employees’ wages to $10 an hour or more.

“Nobody who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty. That violates a basic sense of who we are. That’s why it’s time to give America a raise,” Obama told a packed auditorium.

The president’s push for an minimum wage increase is widely supported by Connecticut voters. Legislators and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy are pushing this year to boost the state’s wage to $10.10 by 2017.

See the complete story at CT News Junkie.