The problem here is that you're arguing as a consequentialist: maybe ``those bottom-rung folks can be motivated into improving themselves'', but that's a big if

The problem here is that you're arguing as a consequentialist: maybe ``those bottom-rung folks can be motivated into improving themselves'', but that's a big if. I'm not concerned with what may happen if a policy is introduced: I'm concerned with the intrinsic morality of the policy itself; anything beyond that is crystal-gazing. The only sure consequence of imposing a minimum-wage law is that private businesses are restricted in the wages that they can offer potential employees. Is it moral that the government will arrest me if I hire a 16-year-old to run errands for me at five dollars an hour? I don't think so.