

President Barack Obama speaks about his proposal to raise the national minimum wage at the University of Michigan. (Carlos Osorio/AP)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – President Obama compared the Republican budget plan to a "stinkburger" or "meanwich" during a speech here Wednesday, using a series of zingers in an attempt to strike a contrast with the GOP on economic issues in an election year.

In a speech to an enthusiastic crowd of 1,400 at the University of Michigan, Obama repeatedly mocked Republican ideas about how to improve the economy, as he touted his own proposal to raise the minimum wage.

Obama, who visited the local Zingerman's deli before the speech, said that Republican proposals to cut taxes for wealthier Americans and federal investments in education, as well as replace his federal health-care program, would harm the economy.

The GOP has proposed the same ideas so many times, Obama said, "It's like that movie 'Groundhog Day,' except it's not funny. If they tried to sell this sandwich at Zingerman's, they'd have to call it the stinkburger or the meanwich."

Obama's appearance here was the latest in his bid to put pressure on Republicans to support his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. Republicans have opposed the plan, citing federal estimates that it could eliminate up to 500,000 jobs, even as it raised wages for many more.

In the state that is home to the U.S. auto industry, the president cited the example of Henry Ford more than a century ago, who Obama said gave workers raises so they could "afford to buy the cars they were building."

Setting the stage for a vote on the plan in Congress, Obama said the GOP will have to make clear whether they support paying the lowest-paid workers more money: "You've got a choice: You can give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise."