#SOTU Factcheck: Higher Wages Don’t Come From Washington

President Obama is partially right: hardworking Americans do deserve higher wages.

But what the president simply doesn’t understand is that higher wages don’t come from Washington mandates, but from economic growth.

Tonight, he called for Congress to support more top-down dictates on small businesses.

Instead of focusing on increasing the minimum wage, we need to talk about how to move people out of minimum wage jobs and into better-paying, higher-skill employment.

Under President Obama, the U.S. income gap has widened and more people are on food stamps than ever before.

Make no mistake: no president has hurt the average American worker more than President Obama.

Republicans believe in growing the economy from the bottom-up—through small business, the real drivers of our economy.

Democrats believe in more Washington mandates that stifle economic growth and shrink the middle class.

The perfect example of this is ObamaCare. Look at how a top-down government program, such as the president’s healthcare law has affected small businesses across the country.

They’re not hiring. They’re cutting hours. They’re uncertain about the future.

And now, both our economy and middle-class families are suffering.

President Obama and House Democrats can keep pushing for Washington mandates to revive our economy. But it simply won’t work. We need real solutions…and those don’t come from Washington.