Many groups such as Fight For 15 and Democratic Socialists of America have been instrumental in seeking that workers in America are paid a living wage in order to improve their quality of life. There are many reasons why workers, no matter their place of employment or job title, should be paid a living wage such as allowing them to live a more substantial and humane life, giving them greater economic mobility and financial freedom.
There are several rebuttals to this idea, mainly from either conservatives or libertarians. The common arguments are that if you raise wages too high, the businesses will have to inflate their prices in order to maintain profit, or perhaps the more ridiculous assertion that paying fast food workers enough to live on will lead to them becoming unambitious and they won't seek to move upwards.
The reason this claim is easily defeated is because of the fact that this is about improving people's basic level of income and make sure they're able to put food on the table and have a home and there will still be more attractive jobs that pay more than $15 an hour, this is just about reducing income inequality - so unequal in fact, that for the average McDonald's cashier will have to work over 895 years to earn what Mcdonald's CEO, Steve Easterbrook, 'earns' in just one year.
The movement for a living wage is clearly growing and it can be seen at places like Ada's Cafe that seek to pay their workers enough to live and not just enough to survive. Furthermore, paying workers a living wage means that they will no longer have to use government assistance in order to make up for the cash shortfall, which would cut government spending or allow the money to be allocated elsewhere.
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