A sold out crowd gathered in the Kaiser Hall gymnasium at Central Connecticut State University on Tuesday, as President Obama came to give a speech about his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to ten dollars and ten cents an hour.
Obama laid out a four-step plan to “help us restore that idea of opportunity for everybody for this generation.” As described by Obama, part one is more good jobs that pay good wages. Part two is to train Americans with the skills needed to fill these good jobs. Part three is guaranteeing every young person in the country access to a world-class education. Part four is making sure that if Americans are working hard, they can get ahead.
“It’s common sense, that’s all it is,” Obama said.
A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday, the day before Obama visited CCSU, found that 71% of Connecticut voters are in favor of raising the state’s minimum wage, as opposed to the 25% who do not. Governor Dannel Malloy has stated that he is in support of the raise as well.
Six states have already passed laws to raise their minimum wages, including Connecticut.
Obama said, “Just passing this bill would help not only minimum wage workers, it would lift wages for about 200,000 poeple just right here in Connecticut. It would life wages for about one million New Englanders. It would lift wages for nearly 28 million Americans across this country.”
Others in attendance at the event included Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, and Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin.
