I'm glad that Alfredo Turkey took the time to debunk the rumor that the minimum wage was created for dependant (child) workers.

It was to ensure that every person who works a full time job can live comfortably. Not unreasonable, by a long stretch.

I guess the only question that comes out of this is what FDR meant by a "decent living". And hell what it was in his time is more than likely different now. 

Ah but up until recently, a lot of money has been leaving the economy as people can buy goods from cheaper markets overseas online (I'm Australian).

Only the Aussie dollar being driven down and the subsequent exchange rate differences have allowed money to remain in Australia for the most part.

So in effect, raising minimum wage -> causes inflation -> lowers exchange rate -> more money remains in (and gets into) the country -> profit?

this is just feeding into the rich getting richer.  More inflation and lower exchange rates (and interest rates for that matter) will dillute people's wages while those with real stocks and other assets will see them increase.  This is what has been happening for decades.  It's a race to the bottom for the poor.  No inflation and a strong currency gives people more purchasing power, high interest rates give everyone a place to put their money to save.  Central banks are doing more to destroy the poor than anything else.

Since someone mentioned milk lol

https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/Search/Products?searchTerm=milk

The modern US economy is a service economy. Every single thing you buy at some point is serviced, manufactured, picked, etc by a below $15 an hour worker. The person milking the cow, harvesting the eggs, staffing the warehouse, taking your order, cooking your food, and the person answering the complaint line are all affected. Your food, tv service, cell service, retail purchases, bus rides, and most importantly childcare and cost of food will jump drastically.

If a nanny/pca requires $9-14 now.. its going to be $15-20 then. This entire market gets decimated for the middleclass. I as a middle class worker can no longer afford a nanny.

If milk cost $3 before, think $4 tomorrow.
If your cell bill was $80... think $90 tomorrow.
If your target/walmart bill was $250, think $300-320 tomorrow (product costs AND retailer margins will rise).
If your bus ride was $3, think $3.25-3.50 tomorrow.

If daycare was $200 a week, think $240 tomorrow.

The retired and disabled (fixed income) will be be particularly screwed. The minimum wage worker would see wages double, but costs rise like 20%. The middle class would simply see cists rise with no offset. The rich will hire less service roles (like landscapers, pool cleaners, etc).

The U.S. Department of Labor actually has a great article about raising the minimum wage.

http://www.dol.gov/featured/minimum-wage/mythbuster

It covers a lot of the common myths about raising the minimum wage.

Personally, I think they need to find a reasonable minimum wage, set it, tie it to the CPI, and be done with it.

Edit: I should point out that I think $15 an hour is too high. I think something like $11.50-$12.00 an hour is where it should be.

I can't even believe some of the anti-corporate views here ... 

When you look at this graph it's no wonder you get the misconceived rich people are "stingy" stereotype ...

If you want to raise the wage to $15 an hour and put tons of people out of jobs in the process then be my guest but don't go around assuming that their protecting margins ... 

The total wages of the board of directors or executives pale in comparison to total employee expenses ...

You can't have your cake and eat it people ...

Minimum wage doesn't come without risks or challenges. However, everyone should be able to have a decent living when they work hard for it. I don't even know why there's a discussion about it. Are there seriously people who expect other people to work 8 hours a day while they can't even pay their rent? How is that fair?

Inflation won't be so bad. It's just a tiny fraction of the market that is affected. Prices in some areas surely will rise, like at Mc Donald's or something. In other areas, nothing will happen at all. Overall, it shouldn't be too bad.