Someone needs to point out to 0bama and his Progressive cronies that first time employees usually have to do some jumping to catch that first rung in the first place. When you artificially raise entry level wages then fewer people can make that first jump and never do get on the ladder.
One thing that really burns me is that in 1983 (Reagan Admin.) Republicans and Democrats agreed to start taxing Social Security benefits. (Where was Norquist then?) A complicated formula was devised to determine how much tax should be paid. It included a deduction of $25,000 for singles, and $32,000 for couples. It has not been increased for 32 years. With inflation it should now be more than double. Ten years after retiring I now pay taxes on almost all my modest SS payment. Also the one-time-death-benefit begun in 1957 at $255 is still at $255. It should now, inflation adjusted, be over $2,000 and would just pay for a bare bones cremation.