to enable them to get a job that pays well enough to support even just themselves that while at the same time are attempting to support a family. If you think that if the market sets unskilled jobs at $5 an hour, but at the same time these people should have enough time on their hands to better themselves, while they would need to work 60+ hours a week mostly on their feet just to have food and shelter... I don't know what to tell you. This would leave more people behind only to increase profit margins. Honestly, what is hurting normal people the most is land prices (therefore rent hikes) and inflation. There should be a minimum wage increase every few years so you can buy the same amount of milk/bread in 1960, as you can in 2000, 2020, 2030.

If we could spread people out, and not squeeze everyone in high land value cities, I think there is more of an argument to be made, because a much less percentage of peoples wages would have to go towards just having a place to live.

I have known people that literally couldn't find change for a dollar if the total is 85 cents without using a register. Yet they are supposed to somehow go and find marketable skills?

I do believe there is enough land and resources in this country for everyone that wants a job, to have one, and for their life to not be a living hell. All without being on the government dole. Not that I have the solution, but there is no doubt that the resources are there. It's just a matter of finding some middle ground between complete handouts, and complete abandonment.

Minimum wage is $290 dollars a week before anything is taken out. That's 1160 a month. We can call it 1,000 a month after "taxes". Can I live on that much money? Absolutely, if I never get sick, my transportation never breaks, and I'm able to find roommates who are also in the same place. Will my job provide health care benefits, or any paid time off to have something to resemble a normal life? No. 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Throw a child in to that mix, and things get ugly very quickly. Also throw in to the mix that human nature won't allow these people to make the proper decisions that a thread earlier was saying people with graduate degrees have trouble making but we expect people with zero education, and very few if any prospects to make. i.e. Saving properly... etc.

It's tough, and like I've said before, I don't see a clear answer that maximizes human happiness. I just know that leaving people behind isn't the answer. Not that minimum wage increases are the answer.

I think the best way forward is education being as accessible as possible. But more focused on trade schools. There should be zero barrier to entry imo. But that's a discussion for another day.

Much of this is off the cuff train of thought, with thoughts of people I know while managing in the service industry for over a decade. So I am willing to admit that I could be way off base here.