He was speaking on Tuesday February 12 in a State of the Union address.

President Barack Obama on Tuesday, February 12, 2013 in his annual State of the Union address to Congress, urged members to back his government’s plans to revive the sluggish US economy, promising what he described as smarter government for most people.

President Obama also called for action on gun violence, climate change and immigration reform, BBC reported. Seeking to put the prosperity and concerns of the middle class at the heart of his second-term agenda, Obama invited Congress on Tuesday night to raise the Federal minimum wage from 7.25 dollars (about FCFA 3,500) an hour to 9 dollars (about FCFA 4,400), saying this will help lift millions of people out of poverty and energize the economy.

The New York Times quoted him as declaring that it was the task of his generation to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth by ensuring the survival of a rising and thriving middle class. He went on to mention three questions Americans must ask themselves everyday: how to attract more jobs to the country, equip people with the skills to get these jobs, and to make sure that hard work leads to decent living.

Obama also announced that 34,000 troops would return home from Afghanistan by February 2014. The withdrawal, representing slightly more than half the current American force in Afghanistan.

Observers say raising the minimum wage holds particular political appeal for younger Americans, struggling workers and labour groups, all of which were important for Obama’s re-election in 2012.

Responding on behalf of the Republican Party, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, said Obama’s solution to virtually every problem of Americans was to tax more, borrow more and spend more, Fox News reported. House of Representatives Speaker, John Boehner, also condemned what he called the President's go-it-alone-approach.