January 28th, 2014
06:00 AM ET
8 years ago

Obama to raise minimum wage for federal contractors

















soundoff (545 Responses)
  1. Johnny

    What a freaking idiot this POTUS is ! Raising the minimum wage is not going to create jobs any more than his stupid ObamaCare did.

    January 28, 2014 07:49 am at 7:49 am |
  2. jkeys

    Whether or not a minimum wage increase is a good thing, our president should not be stomping his feet like a spoiled brat and bypassing our legislative system when he doesn't get what he wants. It is a two party system meant to have compromise and balance, it is not a dictatorship meant to be lead by executive orders.

    January 28, 2014 07:50 am at 7:50 am |
  3. Ryan C

    So now government workers make more than the private sector?! Bad things coming...

    January 28, 2014 07:52 am at 7:52 am |
  4. Mike

    Want to give people a better standard of living, and giv ethem the ability to have more money in their bank accounts? Well, let's look at the cost of fuel. once the cost of fuel rose to over three dollars a gallon, food costs, energy costs and all of the other costs associated with high fuel prices rose dramatically. Want to give those workers that earn minimum wage a better chance? Lower the cost of fuel for this contry and see their lives improve. Mandate that once the cost of fuel lowers, the price of food, transportation and utilities decrease with respect to the lower cost of fuel.

    Who remembers when gas cost 85 cents a gallon? I do, and I remember that bread also cost $1.10 a loaf and milk was $1.10 as well. I had more money in my bank account then than I do now.

    January 28, 2014 07:53 am at 7:53 am |
  5. Mike

    Just what we need. Bigger Government. Also, hold up! Is this the same Fed Government that can't pay its bills? Let's call it what it is. It's a gimmick by a failure of a President. Obama was and is unqualified for the job. Considering he followed another week President (W), we're in trouble if we don't put some strong 'NOT COOL' this time.

    January 28, 2014 07:54 am at 7:54 am |
  6. John, PA

    Another bad decision from the worst president in the history of the United States. Obama just keeps piling on Failures after Failure after Failure.

    Oh and the State of the Union under Obama; no surprise a Failure on every level.

    January 28, 2014 07:55 am at 7:55 am |
  7. John Williams

    I cant think of any government contracting positions that pay $10 an hour.

    What is the net effect of this move?

    Sorry $10.10 – cant forget the dime.

  8. srcactus

    Proof that the man has no leadership skills or no desire to lead, you be the judge. The failed agenda is stalled because it is not who we are and would eventually fail even in the hands of an experienced manager capable of obtaining consensus.


    America is a modern capital of the world.

    January 28, 2014 07:57 am at 7:57 am |
  10. Dan

    If the minimum wage goes up, its going to drive up prices on just about all consumer products...

    January 28, 2014 08:00 am at 8:00 am |
  11. Dutch/Bad Newz, VA -aka- Where's Our $24 Billion?

    Oh no! The dictator is actually doing the will of the people without congressional approval.

  12. Madison

    If congress refuses to enact legislation completely and solely out of hatred for the president, then the president needs to act in accordance with his powers and the will of the people who put him in office. The republicons are so blinded by hatred of Obama that he could propose the ryan budget tomorrow and they would oppose it.

    January 28, 2014 08:01 am at 8:01 am |
  13. Brian in DC

    Yay, higher taxes to pay for Obama's follies.

  14. Uncle Bryce

    I hope the republicans begin to bend a little.
    Some act like they were elected by the American debt and not the people.
    We ran this debt up with tax cuts, two long wars and bailouts.
    We don't have to keep destroying families to balance the books.

    January 28, 2014 08:02 am at 8:02 am |
  15. Brian in DC

    I expect a lot of talk in the SOTU and no matching actions, more like contradictory actions

  16. DP

    And I suppose he is going to pay for the increase with the millions he has in the bank?

    January 28, 2014 08:03 am at 8:03 am |
  17. oldbones24

    I support this 100%. I read an article that reported that working families on food stamps have increased by 32%, while corporations are making record profits. Many of these are government contracts. That tells me we have stepped back a hundred years, when fat businesses were paying children a dollar a to work a 72 hour week. How soon we forget our own history and why we have the "minimum wage" in the first place. So at $10.10 an hour it's $20,000 a year, without vacation. That's just a drop in the bucket.

  18. Hey Buddy

    don't forget about the working poor-man!!!!!!!

    January 28, 2014 08:06 am at 8:06 am |
  19. BeenThereDoneThat

    President Obama will NOT allow obstructionist Congress to shortchange the American people & torch his presidency! Bravo!

    January 28, 2014 08:07 am at 8:07 am |
  20. sww

    So, freeze government worker pay for three years then furlough them. Take 1% away from cost of living increases for retired veterans, then give contractors more money...

  21. S Banister

    I am sick of Presidents who govern by Executive Orders and refuse to be leaders by bringing all to the table to find a viable solution. This latest news confirms to me that we need a lot more business leaders in the government rather than lawyers who clearly understand very little about economics. Raising minimum wage is only going to make it worse for the middle and lower economic class as inflation hits.

    January 28, 2014 08:08 am at 8:08 am |
  22. BO

    Bill Gates created more jobs than Obama can even dream of. Gates says increasing minimum wage is WRONG.

  23. John

    Interesting ... but I'd hate to point out to our President that the way checks and balances work, the pile of money to pay for that doesn't grow because of his executive order. Only Congress, specifically the House, can do that so almost by definition, the US government will have to hire fewer people. Wonder how that will make his unemployment numbers look?

    January 28, 2014 08:11 am at 8:11 am |
  24. Erok

    Nice job, Mr. President! Congress has become a joke and it's "Action, not words" time. Now we can hear all of the GOP "clowns" call you a Dictator. It's nice to trickle something down on them once in a while.

    January 28, 2014 08:12 am at 8:12 am |
  25. MickinMD

    Anyone opposed to raising the minimum wage is FOR taxpayer subsidized aid to wealthy businesses, because of the food stamps, free school lunches, Medicaid, etc. that the taxpayer provides when the business skims off more of the profits from worker pay than the worker needs to live.

    Anyone who thinks "these are teenagers jobs" should be reminded that, since WW2, the minimum wage has been a trial wage that was usually increased within 6 months. As a 17 year-old part-time high school kid working fast food in 1967, I started at the minimum wage of $1.25 and within 9 months had raises that brought me up to $1.55 hr, which is $10.40 to $12.75/hr now, depending on which calculator you use.
