Quote Originally Posted by DA
Raise the wage, and prices will just go up, thus consequently reducing the value of the increase to right where it was
Obviously increasing wages will cause upward pressure on prices, but to say that the value of the increase would be "right where it was" assumes that the only cost of production is the wage cost and that consumption is restricted to items produced by minimum-wage workers. In short inflation will be higher than it would otherwise have been, but not enough to eliminate the benefit to those on the minimum wage.

Quote Originally Posted by DA
Capitalist society rewards those who contribute the most, and rightly so since it inspires most to achieve greater means for themselves.
Capitalist society does no such thing. It rewards those who can command the highest pay. Whether these are those who contribute the most or not is contentious to say the least. Who contributes more to society: a nurse or a management consultant? According to the above description of capitalism, the management consultant does. I disagree.

The fact is, minimum wage jobs are not meant to be lived on.
If this is the case, they are only intended for the very young who might be expected to live at home, or they are immoral. Why should you offer a job at less than the money someone needs to support themselves?

A minimum wage is essential in any state that has social security support. If not, employers will offer low wages and expect the state to make up the difference between the pay and an acceptable income. In this way, taxpayers are subsidising employers. This is not a new problem. Follow the link for an 18th century example of this happening:

Speenhamland system (wikipedia)