It's no different than having less expensive foreign labor do the work and then importing the goods. The only thing the minimum wage does here is ensure that no

It's no different than having less expensive foreign labor do the work and then importing the goods. The only thing the minimum wage does here is ensure that nobody is allowed to perform the task at that rate. Toss out the minimum wage and institute a survival level "basic income" instead. If it is truly the desire of a society to set a minimum acceptable amount of money that a person deserves, let the cost be paid by society itself. Then people can have an open, unquestioned choice about what rate they are willing to accept to perform a job to supplement their income: be it unpaid internships or working at a fruit stand.