[pashamur]

No, we simply change the game. Why is their labor not worth the new minimum wage? Is it outsourcing? Foreign tariffs or import controls. Is it robots/automation? Tax robot productivity and provide a general UBI with the output.

Why is the livable wage so high - is the problem affordable housing? How about we provide guaranteed government backed housing loans directly through a federal agency (no intermediation), and force the rate on secondary mortgages and investment mortgages up significantly making investing in real estate less appealing?

The market is already not a free one - we know this ever since the FED started bailing out corporations in the 80s. If we are already moving towards a centrally planned system, why not drop the façade and at least do it in a way that benefits the underclass as opposed to the bankers.