Lacey

November 2, 2016

Raise the Minimum Wage

Dear President,

Are you ever sitting around in the white house hoping and praying that the minimum wage will go up soon so that you can have enough money to feed your family? Well, some people in America are. Contrary to popular belief, it is not just kids that earn minimum wage. Many people are raising families and need to support them and are trying to do so off of very little pay. There are people that are not earning enough money and it is important that the minimum wage is raised so that they can support their families. It should be increased to improve lifestyles and to boost the overall economy.

Raising the federal minimum wage above the current $7.25 an hour would over time, improve many American’s lifestyles. Currently in America “more than 50 million workers earn less than $15 an hour” (Greenhouse 8). That is way too many people that are trying to earn enough money to pay for food, a house, clothing, heating, electricity, appliances, and many more essentials, let alone any leisure activities. All of these simple ways of life should not be difficult things to obtain for over 50 millions Americans. Economic estimates that have been made show that raising the minimum wage just $2.85 to $10.10 an hour “would bring about 6.8 million people out of poverty” (Boushey 4). If people in poverty are working but not earning enough money, they are going to stay in poverty. I believe that raising the minimum wage would help many people in poverty, and people close to the poverty line, earn enough money to get back on track with their lives. These people deserve a chance to overcome poverty and gain access to a better quality of life. Minimum wage being raised would overall give people better lifestyles and help bring many people out of poverty.

The economy would be stimulated if the minimum wage was raised. The productivity of workers would increase if they were being paid more because they would be more willing to come to work and get things done. An article stated that even the White House agrees “higher wages can ‘boost productivity, increase morale, reduce costs, and improve efficiency’” (Boushey 31). All of these things are very beneficial for a company to grow and expand. When a company’s efficiency and productivity are on the rise, their profits will follow suit. Also, when workers earn more money, they will put more money back into the economy when they purchase things, therefore helping it improve. Many Americans feel that increasing the minimum wage is important, support for it “has been over 70% as far back as 1994” (ProCon 31). Most Americans are in favor of raising minimum wage because it will have a positive effect on our country’s economy. I agree with the American people and think that raising minimum wage will help the economy. In order to stimulate consumer spending and provide an opportunity for more Americans to earn a living wage, the minimum wage must be increased.

There are people that do not agree with raising the minimum wage for different reasons. One reason people are worried is that with a minimum wage raise, comes a loss of jobs for many employees. People fear that workers will be laid off in the process of paying a higher wage so the company can continue earning steady profits. In actuality, “Careful studies of the economics literature find that increases in the minimum wage have little to no effect on employment” (Boushey 29). With an increase in pay, the workers increase productivity and in turn, reduce costs for the company. So, people that think many people with minimum wages will lose their jobs do not need to worry any longer. People with the lowest wages are having a very time getting by, one mother states “There are days where I have to choose between buying formula or diapers, paying rent or buying monthly bus passes -- these are choices mothers shouldn’t have to make” (Greenhouse 15). If there is an issue as big as such, people need to start solving it. Instead of saying that it will make jobs disappear, the people of America need to take action and help insure that is not the case by all working together for a better future. People are worried about low wage workers losing their jobs but the real issue is that there are people living on such minimal pay in the first place.

In order to improve the lifestyles of many Americans and to help stimulate the overall economy, the minimum wage needs to be risen to a higher pay. The lifestyles of many people that are living off of a very low wage will become better with an increase of pay and the economy will improve because people would earn more money to put back into other businesses and the new, greater productivity of workers will help the companies operate more efficiently. The only choice left for America to take is to raise the minimum wage. More people need to bring this to the attention of others so that together we can take away the large income gap between the rich and the poor.

Works Cited

“Should the Federal Minimum Wage Be Increased?” ProConorg Headlines. ProCon.org, 31 Mar.

2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Greenhouse, Steven. “How the $15 Minimum Wage Went From Laughable to Viable.” The New

York Times. The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Boushey, Heather. “Understanding How Raising the Federal Minimum Wage Affects Income

Inequality and Economic Growth.” Equitable Growth. © 2016 The Washington Center

for Equitable Growth, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.