> In a society with a social safety net, under-paid workers are also a cost to government as they will not pay taxes and will be due social assistance payments/

> In a society with a social safety net, under-paid workers are also a cost to government as they will not pay taxes and will be due social assistance payments/transfers to help cover their costs for food and shelter. Social safety nets are typically paid for via progressive taxation, the burden for which falls on the rich. In the alternative, the employer covers that cost and passes it on to buyers in the form of higher prices. Higher prices affect rich and poor equally. There's arguably social value in having the government pay for that safety net: and it's lower prices for lower and middle class consumers.