Leftists don’t pay according to merit, although they think they do. NYC mayor John Lindsay (1966-1973) thought that way, i.e. one must offer $40,000 per year for positions that were then paying half that amount, in order to attract people worth the higher amount; instead, he ended up with people worth $20,000 being paid double. And now that is being forced on the private sector.
At least, so far, the private sector can adjust its costs on margins the federal government cannot control, like higher qualifications or more capital-intensive methods of production and service delivery when the minimum wage rises. So far.