All the classical economics training in the world will tell you that raising the minimum wage likely increases unemployment and does nothing to address the poverty issues at hand. That said, most of the empirical studies I've read, particularly where "living-wage" ordinances were instituted in communities, the theory doesn't seem to pan out in practice. 

I subscribed to the classical view for decades but have come to realize that movements to higher minimum wage rates to something akin to a "living wage" probably yields more good for our society than harm. Lets face it, if we didn't impose some minimum level of wage in our world, it would not be long before we are back to Dickensian times. I see this in the U.S., where almost all low-end service jobs are shifting to a "tip-culture" to offset the abysmal levels of statutory compensation.