Everyone who comments on this thread needs to read this:
* Raising the minimum wage doesn't shift the distribution of wealth (companies lay off workers, companies no longer have profit margin close down, companies shift highering demographic).
* Raising corporate Tax doesn't shift the distribution of wealth (the increase is absorbed by the consumer)
* Income Tax on rich & (with exceptions on groceries/utilties/rent to make it non-regressive) sales Taxes & Social Programs do change the distribution of wealth, (danger being lower rewards = less risk taken, but this is debatable).
If I was a liberal, I would be pushing strongly for social programs & taxes instead of minimum wage. The economic benefit of having more workers actually working (because they are allowed to work for $4 an hour) is HUGE. and with social programs their life would be like you wanted it.
for the argument against (lower rewards = less risk taken by ceos/entrepreneur) that says "Bill Gates's decendants have never worked a day in their life and they are rich. (Actually Bill Gates is a good parent & powerful philanthropist, just replace that with some other rich dude)
Anyway for that reason we have a variable estate tax up to %40. Yes, there are probably loopholes to this and they should be closed.
These are simply a front, though. Most people object to minimum wage due to purely ideological reasons.