So, why don't we just make minimum wage $100/hour.  That ought to work, right? The economy reacts.  Companies don't go into business to give people a living and it isn't their responsibility to do so.  They offer a job for a wage that they can afford to pay and employees accept or reject whether or not they want to work for that wage. They don't like it? They need to figure out how to make more. Low wage jobs can go to high schoolers who are learning work ethic.