Obama manufacturing, wage push met with some skepticism  Wed Feb
13, 2013 12:10am EST  * Small businesses push back on $9/hr
minimum wage  * Energy plan makes no mention of electric
vehicles  By Ben Berkowitz  Feb 12 (Reuters) - President Barack
Obama's call for a renaissance in American manufacturing could
lead to new jobs down the road, but his push to increase the
minimum wage now could be a harder fight, with retail groups and
small businesses opposed to the extra cost.  The president used
Tuesday night's State of the Union address to lay out a plan to
bring manufacturing jobs back to the country, including a
network of institutes that would teach new industrial skills.
In an effort to make his point that it can be done, Obama
mentioned Apple Inc, whose chief executive, Tim Cook, attended
the speech, and which has already pledged to move some Mac
computer manufacturing back to the United States from China. He
also acknowledged companies such as Caterpillar, Ford and Intel
for doing the same.  But even th