The minimum wage is a sham and a shame

A high minimum wage is an inefficient method of reducing poverty. Here is a list of disadvantages.

1. An increase in the minimum wage reduces employment opportunities. (David Neumark,Peter Shirley, Industrial Relations, April 2022, Peter Cove, Congressional Budget Office)
2. The decrease in employment opportunities fall disproportionately on the workers with the least skills. (David Neumark,Peter Shirley, Industrial Relations, April 2022, Cato, Sep. 2021)
3. The decrease in employment opportunities fall disproportionately on young and Black people. Lord help the person who is both young and black.
4. Racism helped create the initial minimum wage legislation. (WSJ, Feb. 2021, Sowell, 2009, pp. 94-95, footnote deleted, WSJ, April 2022)
5. A minority of the benefits of the minimum wage accrue to poor people. (Congressional Budget Office)
6. An increase in the minimum wage leads to a decrease in other types of compensation. (AIE, June 2021)
7. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a more efficient way to help the working poor. (WSJ, Oct. 2020, Bloomberg, Oct. 2020)

The REAL solution to reducing poverty is to increase the job skills of the low-wage workers. We could start with improving the education children receive in under-performing school systems and early childhood interventions.

I fear that the political will increase the minimum wage will continue. 

1. The minimum wage gives the appearance of doing something and politicians love to be able to claim that they have done something to solve a problem. 
2. Advocating for an increase in the minimum wage lets politicians posture that they care about poor people.
3. An increase the minimum wage increases the demand for what Joe Biden calls "good union jobs" and unions are a primary base for funds and votes for Democrats. 
4. Politicians love power and the minimum wage puts them in charge.
5. The job losses caused by the minimum wage are not obvious.

I also don't anticipate a surge of support for the actions I think are needed to improve the quality of education in low-performing school systems. Teachers and their unions and associations are another primary base for funds and votes for Democrats.