Comment Re:This is silly (Score 1) 720
Well you actually give a good reason why increasing minimum wage is good.
See, minimum wage zealot ( in the US, elsewhere that's different ) only ask for the minimum wage to be raised to the level where those worker do not cost more money in social security. The outcome you highlight are correct and good.
The first one, some people are replaced by robot. In effect, too low minimum wage padded by social security was just subvention of inefficient business model. Now social security cost is still the same ( more jobless, less padding ) but the industry has become more efficient.
Second effect, increase in cost, is good too. Because McDonald didn't pay its employee enough, the taxes of all non-McDonald customer served to give a discount on the meal price of McDonald customers. Worse was that McDonald was making profit i.e. part of the non-McDonald customer taxes going straight in their pockets ?
You cannot look at minimum salary in isolation. If you have a social security system that is going to help people in trouble, that is stupid to have a minimum wage that still need to be padded with extra help. So either you increase it to social security level, or you reduce social security level to the same level as full-time minimum wage. ( ideally you would reduce it to less than that, because otherwise you give negative incentive to work - i.e. why would I work at McDo when I can get the same not doing anything )
Now, obviously this is a simplified view of the world. In practice, determining the level of minimum wage where somebody is self sufficient is tricky and that's where the real debate is. The consequence you listed are only negative when you get over that level.