You're asking people with broken legs to walk it off. Clinical anxiety is not easy to treat, and minimum-wage workers don't generally have the time or resources

You're asking people with broken legs to walk it off. Clinical anxiety is not easy to treat, and minimum-wage workers don't generally have the time or resources to go about it. In non-psychological issues, the risk of going an extra few months without a job can be hard for minimum-wage workers. They might not be in a position to accept the tail risk even if the average outcome of negotiating the extra couple of dollars would leave them better off. I don't mean to ask sympathy for myself; I'm doing fine now, and I think you're right that I could use some negotiation training (I do read self-help books about it from time to time). I bring up myself just to make clear that this kind of issue can affect anyone. For people stuck in that situation (especially with kids), I feel a great deal of sympathy, and I'm interested in anything (minimum wage, training, Earned Income Tax Credit) which can help them.