Minimum wage laws don't tend to increase real wages, at best they reduce hours. In some cases (data indicates this in Seattle) the reduction in hours overshoots

Minimum wage laws don't tend to increase real wages, at best they reduce hours. In some cases (data indicates this in Seattle) the reduction in hours overshoots the increase in rates. Labour has a utility to employers, and if the employee can not provide utility that the employer can translate into more than a minimum wage's worth of value, then they simply can not be hired for that rate at that time. I am taking time away from work right now, which is possible due to my frugal lifestyle and fairly high skills. I would love to do part time work to keep me on my feet, even below minimum wage. There are endless things around town that I'm sure somebody is willing to pay something for. There is no such thing as a living wage, there might be such a thing as a living salary. Due to good planning, my expenses are tiny, my living income would be maybe two thirds of the U.S. poverty threshold (in the U.S. I could still afford health insurance at or below the poverty line with my other expenses), and that's in a real city.