Before a certain point, minimum wage benefits vulnerable people who are at risk of being indentured and exploited, it makes sure that people can afford their own bed and board rather than having it provided by an unscrupulous employer who then tosses them a nickel each month as a technicality so no one can call it slavery.

However beyond a certain point minimum wage does not increase wages, it merely makes jobs that pay less than minimum wage illegal, forcing businesses to stop employing citizens and to either outsource, bring in migrant workers, pay people "under the table" (usually illegal immigrants), to downsize or employ people at a loss until they go bankrupt. You could argue this "certain point" is more like a ratio and while a high minimum wage incurs a loss of economic productivity it is worth it to help the poorest in society by a negligible amount, however when you take into account the fact there are alternatives and complements to minimum wage then it is time to stop viewing minimum wage as a single cure-all-ills.

Minimum wage fans have good intentions, just as I probably have something to learn from them, they have something to learn from me. As much as I would only like to argue about the advantages of minimum wage, I am an engineer and so I can't ignore the disadvantages, we should begin focusing on workfare and welfare programs that help open up jobs, help people retrain and search for work, which although won't be without problems, will achieve the same practical goals we all value.

Also, being far more practical, you would think these ideas could be easily popularized among middle class conservative folks who are skeptical about minimum wage, it would help republicans attract people who care about the poor and help democrats attract people who want the economy managed intelligently.