"Here is a novel idea...why not lessen welfare benefits -for able bodied recipients- so they are below what minimum wage is? ...my ex-husband's greatest talking point was ..why should I work for minimum wage when I can get more from welfare?"
It's worse than you think. Take a pencil and paper and write down these monthly figures:
Your house payment or rent.
All groceries.
All medical costs not covered by insurance.
All medical insurance premium costs (both what you pay and what your employer pays).
Any legal costs.
Your outlay for Social Security (both figures...you and your employer).
Add your income tax percentages (you have to realize that they don't pay income taxes).
They get earned income credits.
And the final insult...give yourself a check for not working. Be sure that the check amount is based upon how many children (little investments)you have.
Add all of this up, multiply it by 12 and then divide by 52 and then by 40 (hours) and you will see that it is painfully apparent that minimum wage is not the problem. The problem is that in most cases they make more than you each month.
Why would they ever go to work and lose those benefits along with a permanent vacation...you are lucky if you only get 30 days a year.
We need to go back to the safety net we had back in the 50's...commodities...cheese, canned meat etc...
LBJ and his great society was the end of the need to work in America.
I bow to your wisdom....