From the Social Justice Thread. It's a good tangent that deserves its own debate.

My view is this: Raise the wage, and prices will just go up, thus consequently reducing the value of the increase to right where it was. Worse yet, employers will hire less since labor costs will go up without an equivalent increase in productivity.

The fact is, minimum wage jobs are not meant to be lived on. They are good for transition, and that's about it. Individuals trying to live on minimum wage should focus on becoming more skilled in order to take higher wage jobs. These jobs require minimal responsibility and virtually no training. The individuals can be easily replaced, so there exists no economic incentive to pay them more.

It is completely contrary to supply and demand.