Main guy: "does this prove that paying everyone the same, regardless of merit, doesn't work?"
Reality: Gravity Payments set a 70k minimum wage. That's just a salary floor, not the forced compensation for everyone in the company.

First talking head: "His business is suffering"
Reality: Most recent article I found shows the company is doing just fine: http://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-company-with-70k-salaries-for-employees-doubles-office-space

Michelle, whoever that is: "Go to Econ 101 / It was a disaster, people left and morale was low"
Reality: Based on data provided by the company, turnover is at record low, and people are happier: https://gravitypayments.com/thegravityof70k/#infographic-1. Maybe Michelle should take classes beyond Econ 101 and learn that market dynamics aren't that straightforward, and that a lot of the assumptions from neo-classical economic theory are plain wrong or obviously unrealistic.

Listen, I'm not arguing that incentives don't matter or that regulation that raises minimum compensation solves everything / has no negative side effects / always results in the outcomes intended by the policy. But it's not a simple equation of "do X and Y will happen for sure" on both sides of the issue.

Just look at this example. Might not be representative, but it worked for the company. The CEO on his own decided to do this, and the data shows it has been great for Gravity Payments and its employees.