Aziz S. New York

The Minimum Wage Should Be Raised

The Pros & Cons Of Increasing The Minimum Wage.

Dear President of the United States, 

I’m an immigrant who migrated to the United States in the year 2009, and I’m writing you this letter to bring your attention to the issues of minimum wages in New York. Right now the minimum wage in New York is $9 an hour, and that is not enough for a single parent or both parents to support 2 or more children. Most of the immigrants in New York come to New York with their family to start a new life, and with the minimum wage they’re earning, it isn’t enough to support the whole family and that is one reason why the minimum wage should increase from $9 per hour to $15 per hour.

Dear President, the idea of increasing the New York minimum wage to $15 an hour might sound scary to some people but don’t worry because research has been done to prove to people that the increase in minimum wage will benefit the people and the country more than it does badly. For example, according to Jordaan Yadoo from Bloomberg says “In 1994 there was an important report. It compared the number of jobs at fast-food restaurants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The comparison happened two years after New Jersey raised its minimum wage. Because the minimum wage in New Jersey was higher, some people expected Pennsylvania to have more jobs. The report was surprising. It said low-paid workers in New Jersey did better. They had a better chance of getting jobs.” This shows that increase in minimum wage, not only benefits the people, it benefits the country by decreasing the unemployment rate. In addition to that, according to Don Lee from Los Angeles Times, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles have decided on $15 an hour minimum wage and it will take effect over the next few years. In California, there are more than 10 million immigrants living in there, and the increase in minimum wages at Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles will help the immigrant families a lot. More than 3 million immigrants live in NYC, and the minimum wage of $9 an hour is not enough for most of them to keep the family in middle class. Most of the immigrants in New York live in the city, and according to a New York Times article by Sam Roberts, he says that 21.3% people are poor in city standard at NYC. 

The increase in minimum wage will lift many people from poverty says, Don Lee. This can be one of the solutions because Jordaan Yadoo article proved that after the government released a study in 2014 about the increase of minimum wages, they said 900,000 people will be lifted from poverty when the minimum wage increases and 500,000 low-income jobs will be cut. This is good because an increase in minimum wage doesn’t only help the low-income immigrant, but it also helps the poor too. According to the article California, New York enact $15 minimum wages from Fox News suggests that the minimum wages should increase slowly. In addition to the idea of increasing it slowly, I think the New York minimum wages should increase $2 per year for three years because the minimum wage in New York is $9 and the sum of $2 per year for three years will increase it $15 dollars an hour. This solution can be the best solution because it gives the people what they want slowly, and it can also be good for the economy based on the result after the increase in minimum wage starts. Dear President, the only thing I’m asking you it to take action on this matter, and I know whatever decision you make, it will be for the best.


Saidmurodov A.


California, New York enact $15 minimum wages. (2016, April 5). Retrieved from

Jackson, J. (2016, July 8). Minimum Wage vs. Tax Credit. Retrieved from Wage&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Lee, D. (2015, June 24). As push for higher wages spreads, workers envision a $15-an-hour world. Retrieved from

Roberts, S. (2013, April 21). City Report Shows More Were Near Poverty in 2011. Retrieved from

Yadoo, J. (n.d.). Issue Overview: Minimum wages. Retrieved from 

Brooklyn International High School

BIHS Seniors 2016-17


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