text: I simply can't understand why a tightly run business would hire more people than it needs in the first place--so the argument that one can afford to cut employee hours but can't afford to pay those same employees better just doesn't hold water.
  
  In the long term, raising the minimum wage to be closer to a living wage is part of the economic restructuring that is becoming increasingly necessary as automation and wealth accumulation continue to hollow out the lower and middle classes.