Dear Future President,

          As the new president of the United States there are many changes, improvements and decisions that you must make. One of the changes that you must make is changing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 or higher. This change is required for the United States or our country might be one of the countries that has the highest poverty rates. I strongly encourage that you change the minimum wage to give the people that live on minimum wage a better life rather than living paycheck to paycheck.

          In 2009 the federal minimum wage was changed to $7.25 an hour. In 2014 Congressional Budget Office said that, “a person who works full time at the minimum wage earns $15,080 per year, which is only 20% more than the 2015 federal poverty level of $12,331 (http://minimum-wage.procon.org). Since the minimum wage is barely above poverty levels many families around the United States struggle to provide the bare necessities to live so they are forced to be either homeless or in debt. Most people living on the minimum wage use government assistance to provide food for their family According to the Economic Policy Institute if the federal minimum wage was raised 1.7 million American workers will no longer be in poverty or have to live on government assistance programs. I hope that you make the right decision to raise the minimum wage or there will be an increase in government spending's for food stamps, homeless shelters, and other services that help people with no money.

          Some people think that raising the minimum wage would force businesses to lay off employees and raise unemployment levels. People in the United States think this way because they probably have never seen people who live on the streets or in government shelters. If they see people in this condition they might change the way they think and they will support raising the minimum wage. Business owners in the United States are worried that if the minimum wage is raised they would have to pay a lot of money, and they might have to shut down. The business owners might struggle for about a month, but when the workers start working harder their products will be sold quicker. Then, they can make more money.

          If you want people to stick to their jobs instead of leaving every time they find a better job with a higher salary you must think of raising the minimum wage. It is proven that when one’s mind sees another company offering more money they will quit their current job and move on. To stop such sudden changes the companies must pay at least $10.10 for a worker.

           I am thrilled that you have become president, but can you please put a lot of thought into raising the minimum wage? 1.7 million people around the United States will start to appreciate you, and you can be the cause to bring so many people out of debt. If you change the minimum wage you can spend a lot less money on the government facilities that help the poor.

From a concerned student,

Jadrian J

1. "Minimum Wage - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.

2. US Department of Labor, "History of Federal Minimum Wage Rates under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938-2009," dol.gov (accessed nov. 3, 2016)

3. "Search Results." Letters to the Next President 2.0. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.