Here's a question: if an employee wants to work for less than the minimum wage to get his/her foot in the door so to speak with the possibility of future advancement, why is it okay to take that right away from them? Should a 3rd party (gov't) have the power to intercede in the negotiations between employer and employee and say "we are going to determine what's in your best interests because you are too stupid to make the right decisions for yourself"? Should any gov't have that power?
It never occurs to minimum wage zealots that there are people whose lives might improve if they were allowed to sell their labor at a price below the legal minimum. Not only is this the difference between having a job and not having one for millions of people, it might also allow people working for wages above the minimum at one job to take a second job at a lower wage, where they might learn new skills and eventually transition to a different line of work they like better or pays more or both. That’s called the pursuit of happiness, something people truly are entitled to.
It seems to me that the decision to accept a job that does not pay a "living wage" should be up to the employee and no one else. The employee always has the option to find ways to improve his/her value to the employer and ask for a pay raise accordingly. Or go find another job that pays better from another employer. The responsibility to earn enough money to raise a family does not and should not rest with either the employer or the gov't. That responsibility should rest solely with the employee, who IMHO ought to be made to be responsible for their decisions.
I support the minimum wage but I really do not have a counter argument to that. The only thing I would say to the parent argument (no pun intended) is this; would you be okay with an 8 year old working or workers working without any of the natural physical safeguards? The argument seems to be against government intervention. Isn't some government intervention necessary?
The question is whether government intervention is necessary
in this case. Minimum wage laws are about stifling price competition in the labor market. They're imposed in the name of helping the poor, but in fact, that's who they target. You occasionally will find an MW advocate that will admit this - they will say outright that the reason they want MW laws is so they won't have to compete with someone willing to work for less.
There are many reasons why someone might want to work for less than a "living wage". Many people have other sources of income and don't need much to get by. Young people still living at home, retired people or disabled people who want to keep busy, people looking to break into a new career who don't yet have the skills to warrant a full paycheck - the fact is there will always be jobs that aren't whatever minimum we set, and there will be people willing to do them. Is it really necessary to make criminals out of them just so liberals can pretend they care?