Gary, I don't advocate for corporate welfare or bailouts either. If you want to pay more to help the poorest workers, by all means, do it! You have that ability through your taxes or through charities. You completely ignored my question to you about "when has raising the minimum wage ever solved problems for the working poor?" Answer: it hasn't and it won't. What it does is diminish the buying power of skilled employees who put in the time and effort to reach $32,000 per year by gifting everyone without skills or motivation that same salary. There are no free lunches in nature. Change has to start within families who are intact, put an emphasis on education and delayed gratification and refrain from pumping out kids before they can afford them. Government meddling doesn't solve economic issues as you so poignantly pointed out regarding "trickle down" economics.