Several reasons why Obama is pushing for a minimum wage increase.....

Just last week President Obama went to the University of Michigan to “press for a federal mandated higher minimum wage” while standing in front of students who will soon be looking for jobs after graduating. As usual our President is still in campaign mode instead of being in Washington dealing with the important and pressing issues including employment and wages.

Unfortunately and as usual, president Obama failed to be a “leader” and continued his campaign rhetoric "You've got a choice. You can give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise," … In fact the NPR audio clip I heard on the way in was when several students “booed” and Obama responded with “No don’t boo, organize”. Maybe the students should be asking the president why they are facing minimum wage jobs after they graduate because of his economic policies?

Better example yet is: “On their way to the campus, Obama and Peters stopped at Zingerman's Deli, an Ann Arbor landmark, where they ordered Reuben sandwiches and were served by a Michigan graduate who makes $9 an hour — a rate above the current federal minimum wage. "That's worth celebrating," Obama said.” Instead of “celebrating” this college graduate earning more than the minimum wage, the president should explain why there is no job for this graduate in his field… http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-mich-senate-candidate-call-higher-wage-23154151

But maybe here is another reason why the President is campaigning on the minimum wage issue. “Nationally, Obama wants to increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 as part of an election-year economic agenda focused on working families. The White House says that would benefit more than 970,000 workers in Michigan.” It turns out that many Union contracts are tied to the minimum wage index and with a raise nationally of the minimum wage many Union members, already making substantially more than minimum, will also get a raise.

Richard Berman writes in “Why Unions want a higher minimum wage”

“The real reason is that some unions and their members directly benefit from minimum wage hikes- even when nary a union member actually makes the minimum wage”…

“The data indicate that a number of unions in the service, retail and hospitality industries peg their base-line wages to the minimum wage”…

“Other union contract stipulate that, following a minimum-wage increase,the union and the employer reopen wage talks”…

And here is another big factor to this whole issue:

 “Labor unions spent an estimated $174 million on the 2012 election, with 91% of the money going to the Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Now many union members could see their paychecks grow as the result of a Democrat-backed mandate-even though the overwhelming majority of scholarly evidence says that these wage increases have a negative effect on employment”…

The truth is nobody wants to “under pay” or keep anybody from earning more money and higher wages. But by rewarding little or no skilled labor with inflated wages does not really help that person but keeps them from learning and obtaining the needed skills to make themselves more valuable in the workforce.

Unfortunately with this economy we have many “skilled” workers who lost their prior jobs and are now working in “lesser” jobs just to get by.

This is another reason why teen age unemployment is so high due to the fact that many lower wage jobs are going to higher skilled labor who have to take a “Step back” due to the economy. Others have been cut-back to part-time status by companies unsure how “Obama-Care” will affect them.  

 What we need is a “Leader” who encourages and supports policies that will grow the economy and put people back to work and producing instead of collecting a government check that replaces their incentive to find work. Instead we have a President still on the issue “campaign trail” celebrating a college graduate earning $9 an hour making sandwiches......