Raise The Minimum Wage
The minimum wage needs to be raised, right now the minimum wage is way to low. So, many people earn the minimum wage, we need to make these people have a better life. So, to make America a better country we need to raise the minimum wage.
Dear Next President,
I think that America needs to raise the minimum wage, because right now if you earned the federal minimum wage($7.25) and worked a 40 hour week then you wouldn’t be able to afford to buy a house in any state, according to a report done by the AFL. So, by raising the minimum wage it would improve the live of many Americans. If you raised the wage there would also be a decrease in the amount of homeless people. This is important to me because in a few years me and millions of others will need jobs and by increasing the minimum wage it would be easier for us to get higher paid jobs. Please raise the minimum wage.
Also, at the moment some states have lower minimum wages than the federal minimum wage. So, imagine working and earning the federal minimum wage, and if you thought was hard, then imagine working with Wyoming’s minimum wage of 5 dollars and 15 cents (according to NCSL)! That's insanely low. Also, looking at many different sites for the average rental cost in Wyoming, it’s around 800 dollars per month. Because of the minimum wage being so low you would have to work 155 hours to cover the cost of the rent. That’s almost impossible. We need to raise the minimum wage, and get all states to actually put it into effect.
You may be thinking that this will shut down jobs. Well, to live in the cheapest state (according to nlihc) West Virginia then it will still make you have to work 60 hours a week at the federal minimum wage to have a 2 bedroom unit. I think we should raise the minimum wage to at least $8.50 because that can open up more homes to live in and then you can work at any state that you live in, or moving to and get a wage that you can afford your home with. So for businesses this may be bad but it is not raising the minimum wage by too much, this means they should still be able to pay for that wage. We also need to make it so every state actually has the federal minimum wage or more!!!
So, in conclusion we should raise the minimum wage to $8.50, get all states to apply it, and decrease the amount of homeless people!!!
Sincerely,
Kaden Davidson
Sources:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-minimum-wage-chart.aspx
http://minimum-wage.procon.org
http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/10-Facts-on-the-Minimum-Wage