Without much fanfare, in 2009 China overtook the U.S. as the world's leading papermaker. They did it in much the same way they became the world's premiere manufacturing beast: innovative engineering, a smart game plan, cheap labor, and massive government subsidies.

The drive to organize the mega-retailer has been no more successful than the U.S. government's War on Drugs. Not one single Walmart store in the U.S. has voted to go union. Not to criticize the AFL-CIO, but that seems like a statistical impossibility. Even a banjo hitter gets the occasional homerun.

No one is saying the minimum wage should propel folks into the middle-class, because, clearly, that wasn't its intention. So Obama's proposed bump is significant. But even at $9 per hour, you're still poor. You're just less poor.