11/1/16

Future President

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C., 20500

Dear, Mr./Mrs. Future President, As the next president of the United States, I totally understand the responsibilities that you have and the challenges that you will face. With that being said there is one issue that needs to be further evaluated and assessed to develop a more prosperous and efficient nation. This issue is the idea of raising the nationwide minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage is critical in creating necessary jobs and cutting down the unemployment rate. It also would raise overall family income as well as do many other things. The nationwide minimum wage right now sits at $7.25. My belief, based on the ideas proposed by President Obama and congressional democrats as well as other factors is that the minimum wage should be raised to $10.10. My plan simplifies the idea and puts this raise into a 3 year timeline. Starting this year (2016) at $7.25. Next year (2017) we add $.75 to get the wage up to $8.00. The year after that (2018) we add $1.00 to get the wage to $9.00. Then finally, in the final year (2019) we add $1.10 to finalize the minimal wage at $10.10. It's that simple. To put it all together, in my opinion, the minimum wage should be raised to $10.10 because, over time, it would raise average family incomes, lift nearly 6 million workers out of poverty, and it would not hurt job creation at all, infact it will help it. First of all, I would like to touch on why raising the minimum wage would raise average family incomes. The average family income in America is around $55,000 right now. This number is very solid compared to other countries, in fact according to the worldatlas.com the United States sits at 9th in average family income. Once again this is good but with all the hard work the people in this country put in, we deserve better. A minimum wage hike to $10.10 would raise average family incomes (below the poverty line) by 2.8% and cut the number of people living in poverty by 900,000. All of this would be done within a year. These numbers are staggering but also there are more benefits within a family. If the minimum wage is raised to $10.10, “21 million children will have at least one parent whose pay will go up.” As a country we should feel pride in what we have but also strive for perfection. As the next president of the United States you have the power to make this country exponentially more prosperous and successful. It is obvious, by raising the national minimum wage to $10.10 the average family income will be raised. Second off, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would lift nearly 6 million workers out of poverty. There are so many problems with poverty. Some being loss of low-cost labor, more pollution, and possibly most importantly the fact that children are not growing up and being educated in the ways that are necessary for future success in America. Our children today are the future and those are just some of the many reasons that poverty here in America is an issue. If we were to raise the national minimum wage to $10.10 nearly “6.8 million workers” would be lifted out from under the poverty line. There are currently 45 million people living under the poverty line in America. With the raised minimum wage, over a span of 3 years you will be able to lift more than 13% of all workers under the poverty line to above the poverty line and give them further opportunity to excel and create jobs and gain more jobs for America. Also, about 35% of African American workers as well as their families will benefit. $10.10 is a perfect number and in the year 2019, this country will be more profitable and lucrative. Finally, if the minimum wage is raised to $10.10 an enormous amount of workers will be raised from out under the poverty line. Lastly, when the minimum wage is raised it will help the creation of jobs here in America. In America, as well in many countries, as you know, the creation of jobs is very important for the success of the country. Since 1987 states have raised minimum wage 91 times during times of high unemployment, and in more than half of those instances the unemployment rate actually fell. Immediately after this over 600 economists signed a letter agreeing that minimum wage increase does not hurt job creation. Economic research has concluded that raising the minimum wage “does not cause greater unemployment, boost productivity, and addresses the growing problem of income inequality.” These ideas overall address the fact that jobs will be gained and when jobs are gained we gain more. As a president I imagine that you want to see your country succeed. Over a span of 3 years, this simple plan provides an easy way to make America great and to keep Americans happy on a daily basis as well as most importantly, create jobs. In sum, raising the national minimum wage to $10.10 will help create more jobs for Americans. To condense it all, through the simple 3 year plan of raising the national minimum wage to $10.10, it would raise average family incomes, lift millions of workers out of poverty, and aid in job creation. These three ideas will help make America truly prosperous and great. In my experiences, I have found that the president deals with many different circumstances that can be very stressful and perplexing. This efficient 3 year system of annually raising the national minimum wage will simplify things and take away some of the daily stress you will face as the next president of the United States. If you decide to devise a plan, whether it is mine or any plan at all to raise the minimum wage, I guarantee you that this country will grow any you, as well as all American will be happy.

Sincerely yours,

Jake