Raising the minimum wage means that the cost of everything goes up.  It hurts people living on fixed incomes.  It hurts those businesses which make small profit margins.  And it hurts workers, who now have an increased tax burden.  Although they got a raise, the cost of medical, housing, and tax increases result in less net income.  (Ask a teacher about their last raise.). Raising the minimum wage only helps if other costs are reined in; $15 isn't enough and they will soon be asking for more.  We need to have thousands of new basic apartments so that people can find a reasonably priced place to live.