Dear Future President,

Not everybody in the US is being guaranteed the minimum wage. “Among those paid by the hour, 1.3 million earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 1.7 million had wages below the federal minimum,” states BLS Reports. Some reasons that not everyone is guaranteed the minimum wage is because of their gender and their state of residence. I believe that guaranteeing minimum wage to everyone should be the priority of the future president because there are a large number of Americans who do not earn minimum wage because of their gender and their state of residence.

Wages are a huge issue in the United States. Research shows that some workers are being paid less because of their gender. Most women are paid less than men and are not given equal opportunities to earn more money. According to BLS Reports, “Among workers who were paid hourly rates in 2014, about 5 percent of women had wages at or below the prevailing federal minimum, compared with about 3 percent of men.“ This matters because it shows that payment of minimum wage is sometimes based on gender and that all men and women should be given equal opportunities to earn at least the minimum wage. Secondly, no matter where you live, all workers should be guaranteed the right to earn minimum wage. In some states, companies don’t obey the laws and pay below minimum wage to some workers. “The states with the highest percentages of hourly paid workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage were Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee (all between 6 percent and 7 percent),” states BLS Reports, US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This matters because it should not matter what state you live in, everybody should be able to earn the minimum wage.

Employers would argue that they do not believe that everybody deserves to be paid minimum wage. Employers believe that workers should be given the minimum wage if the job earns it, but some believe they can pay less than the minimum wage if the job does not deserve it. “It used to be that a man was owed what he had earned. Now, he’s owed what he ‘deserves’,” states the Matt Walsh blog. This matters because all workers should be guaranteed minimum wage and higher. I believe that everybody should have to earn it and if they do then they should be guaranteed the minimum wage and that the job should not be taken away from them unless their performance demands it.

I believe the future president should guarantee that every American worker has the opportunity to earn minimum wage. I believe guaranteeing fair wages for US workers promotes the UN’s Global Goal #10 - Reduced Inequalities. If the future president focused on guaranteeing minimum wages for workers, it would help the US support the UN by providing a better average income which strengthens the economy in both the US and the world. Also, it would show that the US is taking steps towards world peace. This should be a priority because it would make people try for things and make sure everybody is getting what they deserve.

Thank you for your consideration,

Carson Youngman