What is never mentioned in this debate is that those who would benefit from a raise in the minimum wage have already willingly contracted with their employer for a wage that is obviously acceptable to them. It is not as if they’re held captive, they willingly show up to work, at a contracted wage they obviously deem beneficial to them.
Whether they’re happy or not is not the question to be asked.
Most of those who begin a job at the minimum end up raising the value of their labor through industry and acquired knowledge of the job, and receive raises accordingly.
One of the problems here is that there is such a large supply of unemployed young people that in some industries there’s no reason for an employer to pay more. A minimum wage increase does not fix this problem, it only exacerbates it.
A starving man will work for food. If minimum wage is only work available it kinda blows a hole in your theory.