Yep - a minimum wage of 7.x is murdering American jobs still. Not because low skill labour pays that, but it bases its increases on that incredibly insulting baseline.

You can survive on welfare rather than eke out a miserly living on shit jobs that take up your life, which also allows for black market income. Either go for a living wage linked to food and housing/leasing costs that is evaluated periodically, or go for a universal income minimum - it would at least be more honest than that.

Our political system is incredibly dysfunctional and the main cause of this. Instead of forming alliances like a multi-party system in Europe, we're forced to choose between ideological (not practical) extremes. It serves to further cement that disparity.