The main arguments against it are that it will lead to job losses and that companies can’t afford it.
People with the very lowest incomes spend a much greater part proportion of their income than people with the very highest incomes. If you’re a struggling single mother on food stamps, you’ve probably been scraping by without all kinds of things that you actually need, and very few personal luxuries. My experience of being totally fucking broke is that first, I went without basic necessities. If I ended up with more money, then I spent it on food, clothes, rent, and transportation. (As opposed to crashing on people’s couches, going to the food bank, or walking to work.) Even later, extra money was divided between fun and savings.
Raising the minimum wage will actually increase consumer spending, because you’ll have all these people who can suddenly participate in it, who weren’t before. That will stimulate the economy.
The second argument, that companies can’t afford it- isn’t the success or failure of a company its own business, and not that of the government? Isn’t that the free market that republicans are always arguing for? Large companies have so much lobbying power with the government that I suspect minimum wage is being kept artificially low, beyond what the free market would support on its own. In many ways, the government is actually supporting these businesses. For instance, local governments provide subsidies and tax breaks when a large company opens a new store in its area. When low-income employees turn to government programs to make ends meet, we are essentially paying part of their salaries.
If their business model is so flawed that they need all this help… why the fuck are they in business? What benefit does that create for anybody, except the people who own the business?