Exactly. Do-gooders who don't even read one economics paper on the subject think by simply raising the minimum wage substantially there won't be other effects on the economy or on people making minimum wage. As if things happen in a bubble. It's like when conservatives invaded Iraq to remove Saddam and didn't understand the power vacuum it would cause.
It would be very nice if people making minimum wage could simply get a raise to $15 but economics isn't that simple. More jobs will be shifted overseas, more jobs will be automated etc.
lol you mean the same thing that's happening now with a $7.25 minimum wage?
Actually, while the federal minimum wage in the U.S. might be $7.25, the fact is that many states/regions have higher minimum wages... New York State had an $11.80 minimum wage, while California's was $13. The presence of higher minimum wages in at least some of the larger populated states would be enough to drive companies to automation.
An anecdote (for what its worth)...
I used to be friends with a person who managed a McDonald's. (This was before the automated touch screens.) Part of her job was scheduling employees. While they didn't have a direct "minimum wage increased, cut X employees" rule, what they did do is had a rule that "labor may only be a certain percentage of total expenses". When minimum wages went up, they didn't automate (since that wasn't an option then), but what she did do was tighten the schedule... where they may have 1 or 2 extra employees scheduled over a dinner rush (just in case it was busier than expected), they instead scheduled the bare minimum, in line with the guidelines for labor expenses. So, overall employees were getting less hours.