President Obama stopped at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain last month, as part of a campaign to gather support for his proposed federal minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $10.10. He was introduced by Governor Malloy, who has historically supported the increase of minimum wage, to a crowd of over 3,000 people.  Connecticut’s current minimum wage, at $8.70 an hour is one of the highest in the country, showing what the President has called a “commitment to the middle class.” Governor Malloy signed the bill into law on March 26^th, amid some controversy about the potential outcome.

The President believes that a further increase of the minimum wage would strengthen a commitment to the middle class; a recently released report by the Congressional Budget Office stated that this measure would raise pay for more 16.5 million people and lift 900,000 people over the poverty line. But the President’s actions are not without controversy: Republican opponents of the proposal have said that the measure would hurt small business, and would be detrimental to job growth. Republican National Committee spokesman Michael Short has criticized the President as not focusing on the 136,000 people unemployed in Connecticut, and has also said that this nationwide crusade to increase the minimum wage is more about the coming congressional elections in November than anything else.

The minimum wage increase could mean good things for the many Xavier students currently earning a minimum wage salary, but it may very well spell disaster for the students that are seeking employment. Minimum wage hikes have been traditionally tied to a higher rate of youth unemployment, and for that matter unemployment in general. The Congressional Budget Office states that the “10.10 plan” being pushed by the current administration would eliminate around 500,000 jobs by 2016, when the plan is fully implemented. The Xavier students of the future who find themselves on the hunt for employment may be summarily passed over by what, to a company, may be a better investment: older applicants.