I'm actually shocked that anyone on here would think raising minimum wage to a $15/hr "living wage" is a good idea.
I run a business - a small plumbing contracting company. I start new, green (yet hard working) people at $18/hr. it's tough work in the mud/snow/rain doing terrible stuff that nobody wants to do. BUT once someone proves themselves to be hard working and eager to learn, I set them up with an apprenticeship, and they are able to continue their career, go to school and do better for themselves. One guy who currently works for me started as a green hand 6 years ago. At the time I started him he made around $14/hr. now he's on piecework and hourly makes anywhere from $65-$90 an hour - completely depending on how much he wants to work and get done. He works his butt off and earns every dollar. Now - imagine you're working at a gas station or flipping burgers for $15/hr. easy, no REAL responsibility, no difficult manual labour in crappy conditons. There's almost NO reason for you to want to do better for yourself and push yourself through a crappy apprenticeship - you're stuck. Unless the business owners (such as myself) increase the wages respective to the increased minimum wage. I don't know about other places, but I absolutely cannot afford to raise the starting wage of my guys by the same percentages as the government is forcing minimum wage increases - I'd have to start new, green hands at $20/hr or more.
Additionally, I myself started my apprenticeship at $11/hr. that was 15 years ago. I was a single father raising two sons (both under 4yrs old) with no support from their deadbeat mother. I pushed myself, worked hard, put myself through SAIT and wound up doing better for myself.
Minimum wage, and the types of occupations that earn minimum wage aren't a career. It's a step towards self improvement for those that are willing to go get it. For the rest of the lazy types, for those who think the hard working business owners should subsidize the unwilling - I would fully say "screw them"
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