We pretend to work, and they pretend to pay us.
Rather, the taxes are so high to finance the welfare state and "liberating" licentiousness, including treating HIV, and which effects rent and food prices, that both employers and employees have a hard time. If the minimum wage goes up then all others must and it will be worse.
In addition, the pay is usually not enough to maintain a standard of living our grandparents and most people in the world would dream of. Even way back in 2004,
Of the 35 million living in American poverty, 43% live in their own homes, with only 6% of poor households being overcrowded; two-thirds have more than two rooms per person. The typical poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other cities throughout Europe. 83% have air conditioning, 97% own a color TV, 78% a DVD or VCR, 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception. 65% their own washing machine, 73% their own car, 30% own more than one car. "How Poor Are America's Poor? Examining the 'Plague' of Poverty in America" (8/27/2007), from several government sources, (http://townhall.com/columnists/walterewilliams/2010/06/30/where_best_to_be_poor) and “Understanding Poverty in America”, by Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., 2004, http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/BG1713es.cfm. and U.S. Census Bureau; Executive Summary #1713: