Obama Presses Congress to Raise Minimum Wage - East Idaho News
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Obama Presses Congress to Raise Minimum Wage

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Getty 012914 ObamaCostco?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1391018574375JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(LANHAM, Md.) — President Obama kicked off his State of the Union tour at a Costco in Lanham, Md., Wednesday, urging Congress to increase the minimum wage for all workers, one day after he announced he will raise the minimum wage to $10.10 for all future federal contract workers.

“While Congress decides whether it’s going to raise the minimum wage or not, people outside of Washington are not waiting for Congress, and I’m not either,” the president said. “As the chief executive, I’m going to lead by example.”

“[I]f you cook our troops’ meals, wash their dishes, you shouldn’t have to live in poverty,” he said.

The president selected the Costco site for his first State of the Union stop because of the company’s commitment to providing employees with fair wages. The president noted that entry-level employees, including stock associates and cashiers, have a starting wage of $11.50 an hour — over four dollars higher than the federal minimum wage — and the average hourly wage for Costco employees is $20.

The president kept his speech short, joking that he needed to pick up a few items at Costco to take back to the White House, including a big screen TV for Sunday night’s Super Bowl.

“I need some time to pick up a snow shovel and one of those 50-pound bags of dog food for Bo and Sunny. I was told I’d get a big-screen TV, too, for the Super Bowl coming up,” the president said.

And what size TV does a president need? “The 80-inch. The 60 is not enough, huh?” the president said to the crowd. “Got to go 80.”

The president, who toured the Costco store before delivering his speech, marveled at the variety of items the retail giant sells in its stores.

“You can buy a sofa, chocolate chip cookies and a snorkel set all in the same place,” the president said. “The sofa didn’t surprise me, but the snorkel set, that was impressive.”

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