While I'm not a big fan of the government telling me what I have to pay my workers; their were valid reasons why the minimum wage law became necessary.

Corporate greed is the source of the problem.

The small family farms have always had a hard time being competitive. The large scale corporate farms drove the family operations out of business and didn't want to pay enough for the workers to feed themselves. If we still had slave labor they'd use it. In many cases the Mexican's and the Negroes were treated no better than the slaves of old.

Same goes for the manufacturing sector. The corporations always exploited the American worker until they finally put their foot down, went on strike, formed unions and fought for fair treatment. Then these corporations bought enough politicians until they could pass the trade treaties that allow them to move everything overseas where they pollute at will and exploit the workforce.