Posted by toddcommish on 6/5/2014 2:53:00 PM (view original):
Minimum wage jobs weren't intended to be "living wages". If you get minimum wage, you must have minimal skills. If you want to EARN a living wage, stay in school and learn some marketable skills.
This is the point that can't be argued, so it is either ignored or battled via a straw man. When I got out of school, I made more than minium wage (though considerably less than $15/hour) and lived in a two bedroom apartment with two other roommates, not a one bedroom apartment for $900/month. Why? Because I couldn't afford one yet. It was my responsibility to get to the point where I could, not the government's responsibility to get me there under my (then) currrent circumstances.
The whole argument always essentially boils down to one side saying that everyone should have the opportunity to earn a living wage or better, and the other side saying that everyone is entitled to a living wage. One argument sounds really nice, the other makes actual sense.