Originally Posted by woj

It's pretty naive to call McDonalds or Walmart "stupid", they know damn well what they are doing. They probably have a team of economists spending their whole day analyzing stuff like this. If there was no minimum wage they would simply pay a rate that is in the best interest of their shareholders given the area/circumstances. In some areas they might pay $5/hr, in others they may pay perhaps $15/hr.

Of course you are right, you shouldn't have to subsidize anyone, but why are you blaming it on businesses? How is it business' fault that there are people out there willing to perform the given job for $5/hr? Businesses are in no way obligated to pay a "decent wage", their only obligation is to their shareholders.