If you want to stimulate the economy and make it easier for poor people, take the taxes off gasoline. There will be a hiring bonanza and costs of many products on sale will come down giving net benefits greater than this minimum wage adjustment would provide. Imagine the economic stimulus of a $2 to $2.50 gallon. And the federal treasury would recover most if not all of that tax from increased income taxes.
Another concept that produces similar results to a higher minimum wage, without the strain on employers, would be a higher minimum tax level. Start to levy income taxes only after a “liveable” income is reached. Even a federal wage supplement would be less of a problem for employers than a minimum wage. In some way, the government should remove the disincentive to work instead of relying on welfare. Normally persons who enter the labour force at low wages progress to higher wages over time, the important part is to get them into the stream in the first place. Get them hooked on an income rather than a handout, in other words.