REGIONALISM IS REGIONAL GOVERNANCE (RESOURCES)

http://www.sweetliberty.org/region.html

Content copied from the link above:

By Jackie Patru

A thumbnail sketch of "the method whereby would-be world rulers intend to control every aspect of our lives. Without the full implementation of Regional Governance, their plan for world dominance cannot succeed."
Beware Metro Regional Government
By Phoebe Courtney, 1973
This out-of-print book is so important we transcribed its entire contents for your reading. A must read to understand how regional governance is being implemented; by whom; and for what reason. A complicated system explained simply and thoroughly.
Ridge Applauds Move Toward Regionalization
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge called the "because-we've-always-done-it-this-way" mentality that exists in tiny power bases masked as municipal governments "parochial." He said geographic borders once held sacred have become "undeniably artificial."
Do We Need the States?
By Piers von Simson, New York Times, 1971
"State government is either distrusted or ignored or both... A possible solution to the problem lies in regionalization, in abolishing the states."
Here Comes the Ameri-Dollar!
And there goes the U.S. of A.! World Regionalism in action! "U.S. dollar becomes legal currency in El Salvador on New Year's Day" Panama, Argentina and Communist Cuba already use the dollar. Ecuador will adopt the dollar in September; Guatemala plans to in May.
Government Will Control All Land
Phillip County News, Jan. 4, 1934
"Use of all land, public and private will be controlled by the federal government in the future, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rexford Tugwell predicted this week."
It's Been Going On For a Long Time!
"Governor Martin To Seek Centralization - To Ask Changes in Plans of State Government - WANTS MORE POWERS": Circa 1934
Nine Groups Instead of the 48 States
N.Y. Times Magazine, 1935
"Since, obviously, there is political dynamite in any proposal to abolish States... no one has yet dared to broach publicly the thesis that the abolition would be in the public interest and is, in fact, a distinct possibility in the some-what distant future." Could 70 years be considered the 'some-what distant future?
1942 World Map - Post W.W.II
Commissioned by the Carnegie International Endowment for Peace in 1941, depicting their projected division of the world as it would look after the war... four years prior to the end of the war!
UN's New Task: Regionalize the World
By New Hampshire State Rep., Nelson A. Pryor, 1974
"The United Nations Organization has been busy implementing its assigned task of regionalizing the world. Not satisfied with existing government boundaries and forms of government.... "
Regionalism in EuropeThe global dividers far reach
Community Legislation In Force
Regionalism on a global scale INTERREGIONAL FRAMEWORK COOPERATION AGREEMENT between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Southern Common Market and its Party States, of the other part...
Illinois Legislative Study on Regionalism
Findings: Eventual elimination of States.
In 1978 the Illinois State legislature, urged by Citizen groups, created a committee to study the effects of regionalism in Illinois. Three hearings were held - in Springfield, Illinois: 4-11-1978; Chicago, 7-10-78; and Edwardsville, 9-26-78. The conclusive findings were that Regionalism was destroying and would ultimately eliminate state government. Following are transcripts of four witnesses. (as we have time to type future transcripts they will be added below)

• Part 1  — Norman Dodd, Ex. Director, Reece Committee. Discusses foundations, plans for world dominion, from archives of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, via Regionalism.
• Part 2  — T. David Horton, Constitutional Attorney. Explains Constitutional authority and DUTY of State legislators; their power over presidents, Congress, U.S. Supreme Court and Governors in the pecking order of our Constitution.
• Part 3  — Robert Pope, former City Council. Discusses education, zoning, planning, increased cost of government, loss of property and states rights, excessive taxation under Regionalism.
• Part 4  — Eve Lyn Moerlien, informed Citizen. Details dangers of Regionalism, it's beginnings, etc. A must read.

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Related Links

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Committee to Restore the Constitution
Colonel Arch Roberts has books, videos, audios explaining Regionalism. His web site is a treasure trove of important work. Jackie learned about Regionalism from an audio tape somebody sent... of Col. Roberts.
Organization of the American States
The UN sanctioned organization to unite the Americas.
Summit of the Americans
In league with the Organization of American States.
Canaan Valley Institute
Mission Statement: The CVI was created to foster local decision-making in support of sustainable communities in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands.... include portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and all of West Virginia.... a not-for-profit, and non-advocacy organization committed to enhancing the ability of the residents of the region to improve their quality of life. CVI works to aid communities in implementing locally-determined solutions to problems that threaten the economic or environmental resources of their watershed.

AGENDA: GRINDING AMERICA DOWN

WATCH - AGENDA: Grinding America Down (Full Movie) FREE to watch for a limited time!" on Vimeo

http://vimeo.com/user2695043/agendamovie

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/63749370" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/63749370">

BARRY THE OBAMA REVEALED

Bombshell - Obama High School Friend: Barry Soetoro “Portrayed Himself as a Foreigner”

Copied from the following interview with video:

http://freedomoutpost.com/2013/11/mia-marie-pope-barry-soetoero-portrayed-foreigner/

James Manning recently interviewed a high school friend of Barack Obama, who claims to have known him back in the 1970s as Barry Soetoro. Mia Marie Pope says that Obama identified himself as a foreigner and a crack-smoking homosexual.

Ms. Pope was born in 1962, in California, and moved with her family to Hawaii when she was still an infant. Pope claims that she did not meet or see Barry Soetoro until about 1977. She said that she, Barry and other kids would hang out at the beach at Waikiki.

 

Mia Marie Pope says that Barry Soetoro "always portrayed himself as a foreign student."

While Soetoro was a little older than her and didn't always run around with the circle of friends that she had, Pope says that he "very much was in sort of the 'gay community,'" which she says that even back then was "thriving."

"We knew Barry as, just common knowledge, that girls were never anything that he was ever interested in, and as a young teenager….as a young girl…..it was clear to me that Barry was strictly into men," Pope said. She also indicated that she had no desires for him and said that they didn't get along, largely in part to the fact that he was "a pathological liar, even back then."

Pope said that Soetoro's lies were "egotistical" and always to "boost himself." She referenced Barry "bumming cigarettes," and said that as soon as someone would give him a cigarette, he would instantly turn and walk away, after he had gotten what he wanted. In Pope's words, "He seemed to be incapable or genuine about anything."

Ms. Pope said that Barry Soetoro was always "getting with these older white men." She recognized that he was one that had cocaine, which she said was "newsworthy" in the groups she hung out in. They then began to believe it was Soetoro's engagements (ie. Homosexual acts) with these older white men is how he "procured" cocaine.

"In other words, he was having sex with these older white guys, and that's how he was getting his cocaine to be able to freebase," she told Manning.

Mia Pope also said that she actually saw Obama dress up as a transvestite. She remarked that it was during the era of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry, that this took place.

When asked by Manning why she came forward, and others were not, she said that because she it is a Christian and deeply concerned about her country. She says that if Barack Obama was doing a "good job" today, then she would not worry about his past. She wondered when Obama first came on the scene if he had, in fact, "changed his ways." Apparently, according to Pope, he had not. Pope said that she didn't care about his homosexuality or the fact that he used drugs in the past, but was concerned about who he was as an adult.

Pope says that her willingness to come forward has taken courage, and she believes it is "righteous" to speak out against Barack Obama.

"I refuse to be a coward," she added.

Ms. Pope also says that she had called the Federal Bureau of Investigations several times to expose Barack Obama's use of fake Social Security numbers, and nothing was done about it. This took place several years ago.

Pope said that when Barry's name began to be pushed forward as Barack Hussein Obama, she though there was "something shady" going on.

She was familiar with the claims of Larry Sinclair, the man who claimed prior to the 2008 elections that he had a homosexual relationship with Barack Obama and the two had smoked crack cocaine together. Sinclair was rumored to have been killed in a hit and run in November of 2011.

Pope also said that for Obama to have attended the school he did, Punahou high School (which he graduated from in 1979), required a lot of money and it required that he start from kindergarten, but seeing that he was entering mid-level; she believes that he must have had "something stellar" which allowed him to get in, especially when he was "fresh from Indonesia."

Manning suggested that Obama's involvement with older white men is what got him into Punahou, and Pope seems to agree, though she used a reference to the CIA or some "force" that got Obama "set up" at Punahou. "It was certainly not a natural thing," she said.

They both agreed that has been the way things happened for young Soetoro from Punahou to Occidental to Columbia to Harvard. Pope pointed out that interviews were conducted with those who were in the same classes at Columbia that Obama was supposed to be in and not a single person remembers him being there!

When Dr. Manning asked Pope why she thought that Larry Bland, Nate Spencer and Donald Young (all member of the church Obama attended, Trinity Church of Christ, where Jeremiah Wright pastors) were all killed within days of each other in Chicago, she said that she believed Obama's handlers like what he is doing to the country. Therefore, in her opinion, they have kept a lid on these murders.

MyRA: Obama Initiative as ‘"he Biggest Heist in Human History"

Glenn Beck Slams New Obama Initiative as ‘The Biggest Heist in Human History’

(Copied from the link below)

http://m.teaparty.org/glen-beck-slams-new-obama-initiative-biggest-heist-human-history-33856/

(The Blaze) – Glenn Beck slammed President Obama’s “myRA” proposal on his radio program Thursday as a “bigger lie than ‘if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.’”

The initiative was unveiled by the president during his State of the Union address on Tuesday as a way to help more people save for retirement. Details are still emerging on the specifics of the plan, but the president said it “guarantees a decent return with no risk of losing what you put in.”

FAX BLAST SPECIAL: Impeach Obama NOW!

It’s an “absolute scam,” Beck asserted, adding that it is “‘Ocean’s Eleven’ except there’s nobody good-looking in it.” The target, the multimedia personality added, is the money Americans are saving for retirement because the government has “burned every other investor.”

Beck read a report on Zero Hedge, originally submitted by Simon Black via the Sovereign Man blog, that compares the proposal to investing your money with “Sam,” who has a great history but has had growing financial difficulties in recent years.

The article reads:

Granted, the rate of return [Sam is] promising doesn’t quite keep up with inflation. So you will be losing some money. But don’t dwell on that too much.

And, rather than invest your funds in productive assets, Sam is going to blow it all on new cars and flat screen TVs. So when it comes time to make interest payments, Sam won’t have any money left.

But don’t worry, he still has that good ole’ credibility. So even though his financial situation gets worse by the year, Sam will just go back out there and borrow more money from other people to pay you back.

Of course, he will be able to keep doing this forever without any consequences whatsoever.

I know what you’re thinking– “where do I sign??” I know, right? It’s the deal of the lifetime.

This is basically the offer that the President of the United States floated…

The article concludes with a warning: “Here’s the thing: according to the IRS, there is well over $5 trillion in US individual retirement accounts. For a government as bankrupt as Uncle Sam is, $5 trillion is irresistible. They need that money. They need YOUR money. And this MyRA program is the critical first step to corralling your hard earned retirement funds.”

See Beck’s complete explanation, below:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/30/glenn-beck-slams-new-obama-initiative-as-the-biggest-heist-in-human-history/

Obama 1 step closer to seizing retirement accounts

Copied from the following link:

http://m.teaparty.org/obama-1-step-closer-seizing-retirement-accounts-33770/

     

President proposes T-bills for IRA and 401(k)s

(Tea Party) – Anytime you hear the government say they want to help you manage your retirement savings , run in the other direction.

WND reported that the Obama administration had been looking for a creative way to finance the trillion dollar annual budget deficits. One of the creative solutions was to force private citizens who hold IRA and 401 (k) accounts to purchase Treasury bonds by mandating that government-structured annuities be placed in their retirement accounts.

It was also reported that hearings were held jointly by the US Department of Labor and the Treasury Department to determine whether government lifetime annuity options funded by US Treasury debt should be required for IRAs, 401 (k)s and other private retirement accounts.

FAX BLAST SPECIAL: Impeach Obama NOW!

Now those “creative solutions” for snatching US citizens dollars are drawing closer.

President Obama just announced in his State of the Union address that there is a new initiative to allow first-time savers to build their savings in Treasury Bonds. Eventually these bonds would be converted to traditional IRAs and 401(k)s. This new retirement savings plan is for those workers whose employers do not offers IRAs or 401(k) plans.

It may not be as burdensome as demanding a select percentage be invested in US Treasury bonds but it is clearly a step in that direction by the Obama administration.

Why are they making this move? With the enormous federal budget deficits the Obama administration has run up—about $1 trillion dollars every year since 2009—and the Federal Reserve announcing the “tapering” of Quantitative Easing by buying $10 billion a month less in government debt every month this year until QE hits zero, well, someone has to pay for it by buying all the Treasury debt Obama and his administration plan to issue. Where do they look? To the people naturally.

Americans have put $19.4 trillion into retirement savings and that seems like ripe pickings by the government. In January 2013 the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggested it should help Americans manage those trillions.

“That’s one of the things we’ve been exploring and are interested in terms of whether and what authority we have,” said bureau director Richard Cordray in an interview with Bloomberg.

The Treasury and Labor departments, under the direction of the Obama White House, have increasingly pushed for this type of investment theory. This is because government bonds carry a sovereign guarantee against default. Therefore, funds from a 401(k) or an IRA placed in a Treasury R-Bond would for the most part be considered a government annuity. That annuity would pay the person retiring a lifetime income, no matter how the stock market or bond market performs independently.

And the government’s argument? Investors in IRAs and 401(k) plans lost principal from their retirement savings when the housing bubble burst and the Dow plummeted from a high of 14,164.53 in 2007 to a closing low of 6,547.05 in March 2009.

According to Fidelity Investments, estimated average fund balances in 401(k)s in the approximately 11 million accounts the firm manages dropped from $69,200 at the end of 2007 to $47,500 at the end of March 2009.

But when the stock market rally began in March 2009, the account balances of those Fidelity 401(k)s increased 28 percent. The average account balance at the end of the third quarter 2009 was $60,700—up from the low of $47,500 at the end of the first quarter 2009.

Most IRA and 401(k) investors have registered substantial gains with the Dow in an extended rally since 2009, going up over 16,000 points.

But if the stock market should tank again, anyone with retirement savings in IRSs, 401(k) plans invested in the stock market could take a huge hit and it could take years to recoup the losses.

Could the US follow Argentina’s failing path?

Sadly, those saving for retirement in other nations that carry high debt who have insisted that such savings be put into government debt have fared very poorly. They took huge losses as the debt crises in these nations worsened and bond markets began selling the debt at serious discounts.

In October 2008, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, business and economics editor for the Telegraph of London warned that G7 nations may begin following Argentina in forcing privately managed pension funds to be invested in government-issued debt. He specifically included the United States in his statement.

Those private pensioners in Argentina holding government debt in their retirement accounts could not be assured that those bonds would have any meaningful value at their maturity since the Argentine peso was devalued to 29 cents on the dollar.

“Here is a warning to us all,” wrote Evans-Pritchard. “The Argentine state is taking control of the country’s privately managed pension funds in a dramatic move to raise cash.”

He warned that the G7 states “are already acquiring an unhealthy taste for the arbitrary seizure of private property, I notice.”

“It is a foretaste of what might happen across the world as governments discover that tax revenue,” he continued.

The Obama administration is desperately trying to find additional ways to sell government dept cheaply and not raise interest rates since the Treasury needs another $1.4 to $1.5 trillion in new debt to finance the anticipated budget deficit.

Poland confiscated one-half of all its citizens’ private pensions in a effort to cut the nation’s debt, according to a September 2013 report in WND. At that same time Reuters also reported that the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk announced that the government decided to transfer to ZUS, the government pension system, all bond investments in privately owned funds within the state guaranteed system.

The Polish government has – for the time being – allowed private citizens to keep equity investments in the state guaranteed pension system that are approximately half of all the private pension investments.

The change will reduce Polish national debt to about 8 percent of the gross domestic product, according to Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski , and allow the government to resume another round of debt creation by borrowing in international markets.

By nationalizing the bonds held by Polish citizen private retirement accounts—or confiscating as the case may be—the government can circumvent two threshold restrictions that deter it from allowing debt to head up over 50 percent of GDP. A second threshold kicks in when Polish national debt reaches 55 percent of GDP.

This shifting of bonds held in private retirement accounts into ZUS means the government can book the assets on the state balance sheet to offset public debt. This move allows the government to borrow and spend more, reports Reuters.

As is becoming all too familiar in the European Union, Poland is dealing with slowing economic growth, a poor job market and declining tax revenues. The country has been forced to borrow to maintain its large social welfare system without imposing austerity measures.

Shock and dismay was the international reaction in the private investment market.

Poland’s plan comes after a similar move by the Mediterranean island of Cyprus where the government confiscated 10 percent of the amount in all bank accounts in an attempt to raise 6 billion Euros. This was done to meet a condition set by international bankers and the International Monetary Fund to finalize a Eurozone bailout.

HOLLYWOOD HAS CHRISTOPHOBIA

"Hollywood has Christophobia, a deep seated fear of anything Christian. It is a chronic paranoia that impairs rational thinking and can lead to delusional behavior.  This condition requires delicate professional therapy. A Christophobic can be dangerous when in the delusional state." (Joan G. Rhoden)

Trailer to "Alone Yet Not Alone" featuring the song by Joni Eareckson Tada that caught the attention of the Oscar nominators and made the cut. The decision was rescinded when a group of disgruntled non-nominees cried foul.
(Read the entire article at the link below:)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscar-winner-pens-letter-accusing-676255

11 Facts About The Minimum Wage That President Obama Forgot To Mention

Copied from the following link:

http://thefederalist.com/2014/01/28/11-facts-about-the-minimum-wage-that-president-obama-forgot-to-mention-during-the-state-of-the-union/

During his annual State of the Union address before Congress, President Barack Obama made a big deal about the need to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. The move followed months of promises and rhetoric from the White House about how important it was to the economy to increase the minimum wage. Back in August, the White House Twitter account even posted an infographic claiming that 15 million workers would “directly benefit” from a minimum wage increase and that “nobody who works full-time should live in poverty.” And in December, both the White House and the president’s labor secretary publicly expressed support for nationwide strikes by hourly workers demanding higher pay (because nothing says “I deserve a raise” like refusing to show up to work). Unfortunately for the White House, many of its claims about the minimum wage are divorced from reality. Here are 11 facts about the minimum wage that Barack Obama forgot to mention during his State of the Union address.

1) Only 1 Percent Of The U.S. Labor Force Earns The Minimum Wage

Despite the hoopla surrounding the issue, only a tiny percentage of American workers actually earn the federal hourly minimum wage:  1 percent, to be exact. In 2012, the most recent year for which nationwide minimum wage data is available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), roughly 1.5 million hourly workers were paid the federal minimum wage of $7.25. To put that into perspective, the U.S. labor force consisted of nearly 155 million workers in 2012.

2) Teenagers Comprise The Single Largest Age Group Of Minimum Wage Workers

Teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 years comprise 31 percent of all minimum wage workers in the U.S. according to the BLS. Workers between 20 and 24 years of age comprise 24 percent of all minimum wage workers, those between 25 and 34 years comprise 15.5 percent, workers between 35 and 44 years comprise less than 10 percent, and those 45 years and up comprise roughly 20 percent of all minimum wage workers in the U.S.

3) Most Minimum Wage Workers Are Under The Age Of 25

According to federal data, over 55 percent of all federal minimum wage workers are under the age of 25. Unsurprisingly, young workers are also the most likely to be unemployed. As of last month, the unemployment rate for 16-to-19-year-olds was 20.2 percent, and the unemployment rate for 20-to-24-year-olds was 11.1 percent. The overall U.S. unemployment rate currently sits at 6.7 percent.

4) A Majority Of Those Who Earn The Minimum Wage Work In Food Preparation Or Sales

In addition to classifying minimum wage workers by age, BLS also categorizes them according to their industry and occupation. Data for 2012 indicate that most minimum wage workers work in “food preparation and serving related occupations” (26.1 percent of all minimum wage workers) or in “sales and related occupations” (25.5 percent of all minimum wage workers), an occupation that often pays commissions and bonuses in addition to fixed hourly rates.

5) Less Than 5 Percent Of People Who Earn The Minimum Wage Work In Construction Or Manufacturing

While there seems to be a persistent belief that a large number of minimum wage workers are salt-of-the-earth construction manufacturing types, that’s just not the case. In fact, less than 5 percent of all minimum wage workers are employed in the construction (0.8 percent) or manufacturing industries (3.3 percent) according to federal wage data. [Correction: exactly 5 percent of those earning the minimum wage work in construction (1 percent) or manufacturing (4 percent). I incorrectly used the "at or below minimum wage" column in the original version. Thanks to @aemathisphd for the correction.]

6) A Majority Of Them Also Worked Less Than 30 Hours Per Week

It is true that it is difficult to make a living when you earn only $7.25 an hour. It’s even harder to make a living when you don’t work full-time. BLS says that in 2012, 51.5 percent of U.S. workers earning the federal minimum wage – roughly 800,000 out of 1.5 million — worked an average of 29 hours or less each week.

7) Less Than One-Third Worked Full-Time

You read that correctly. Only 32 percent of the country’s minimum wage workers work full-time — 501,000 out of more than 1.5 million, to be exact. And of those 501,000 minimum wage workers who regularly put in a full work week, only 39 percent are men. Now, it can be argued that it’s not these workers fault that they’re unable to find full-time hourly work. However, Obama administration laws and regulations haven’t made it easier to find full-time work. Recently enacted laws like Obamacare have made the quest even more difficult by creating enormous incentives for employers to shift workers to part-time roles to avoid the health law’s onerous mandates and regulations.

8) A Full-Time Minimum Wage Worker In 2014 Will Make 24 Percent More Than The Federal Poverty Limit

A White House tweet and accompanying infographic from last August said, “It’s time to raise the minimum wage because nobody who works full-time should love in poverty.” But a little math and a quick look at the 2014 federal poverty guidelines show that a single individual who earns the current federal minimum wage and works full-time will earn $14,500 in a year (50 weeks per year x 40 hours per week x $7.25 per hour). By way of comparison, the federal poverty limit for 2014 for a one-person household is $11,670. Wage income from a two-earner family with two kids where both adults earned the minimum wage would exceed the federal poverty limit by 22 percent:  $29,000 in income compared to a four-member household federal poverty limit of $23,850. And that’s before federal benefits like Medicaid and food stamps are included.

9) One-Third Of Minimum Wage Workers Either Dropped Out Of Or Never Attended High School

Educational attainment is clearly a significant factor in determining a worker’s hourly wage. According to BLS, over 36 percent of minimum wage earners — 568,000 out of more than 1.5 million — lack a high school diploma. Only 4 percent of minimum wage workers have a bachelor’s degree or higher. That doesn’t mean a college education is best for everyone, but it does suggest that lacking one can make it more difficult to move up the pay ladder.

10) There Are Nearly Six Times More Minimum Wage Workers Today Than In 2007

In 1980, the number of minimum wage workers in the U.S. reached a peak of 4.7 million workers. At that time, the prevailing federal minimum wage was $3.10 an hour. In 2007, following more than two decades of economic prosperity, the number of Americans earning the minimum wage bottomed out at 267,000 workers. Since then, the number has risen dramatically, exceeding 1.5 million workers as of 2012, the most recent year for which data are available.

11) A Change In The Minimum Wage Often Triggers Union Wage Hikes And Benefit Renegotiations

The famous investment banker J.P. Morgan said something along the lines of, “Every man has two reasons for everything he does:  a good reason and the real reason.” Giving minimum wage workers a little extra cash is the White House’s “good” reason for supporting a hike in the minimum wage. But what’s the real reason? Richard Berman, a union analyst, studied numerous union contracts and published his findings on their terms in the Wall Street Journal in 2013:

The labor contracts that we examined used a variety of methods to trigger the [wage] increases. The two most popular formulas were setting baseline union wages as a percentage above the state or federal minimum wage or mandating a flat wage premium above the minimum wage. Other union contracts stipulate that, following a minimum-wage increase, the union and the employer reopen wage talks.

[...]

Minimum-wage hikes are beneficial to unions in other ways. The increases restrict the ability of businesses to hire low-skill workers who might gladly work for lower wages in order to gain experience. Union members thus face less competition from workers who might threaten union jobs.

And there you have it. The “real” reason behind the minimum wage push is to pay back the labor unions who helped re-elect the president in the form of higher wages, increased negotiating leverage, and less competition for jobs. The president’s decision to unilaterally hike the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour doesn’t really make sense until you view it through that lens (is there a critical mass of federal contractors who make only the minimum wage?). Unfortunately, when it comes to politics, the good reason is rarely, if ever, the real reason.