Is raising minimum wage nationwide a horrible idea?

[Mr Khan]

Fayceless said:
Minimum wage doesn't fix the economy, it just keeps things from getting out of hand. Without a decent minimum wage, many people find it even harder to move up the ladder.

I will readily admit that raising minimum wage is treating the symptom, not the underlying illness. I fear for the future of our economy. Like I think I said earlier, fast food is the fastest growing industry - that's terrifying! While many people say "our economy is becoming a service based economy" they ignore the fact that the only successful service-based economies are tiny island nations who rely on tourism. An economy of 300+ million people can only deteriorate if it's producing services more than goods. That should be our most pressing concern.

Manufacturing is coming back, interestingly (re-shoring is a buzzword you'll see in business/econ rags lately) but the issue is that the rapid automation of manufacturing is continuing just as quickly as it has been for the past 150 years, so while output is up, employment stays flat to down.

Services are the future because, frankly, they have to be. Production will soon be entirely in the hands of the machines.