Minimum Wage

I've seen quite a bit of a movement recently in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Can I just say this?
PLEASE! DO NOT INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE!
Ah, that felt good. :)
Okay, here's what I'm trying to get to.
Increasing the minimum wage will give the people more money. For sure. It will give them more income, and therefore more potential to spend, therefore boosting the economy. It will not increase inflation - because that's not what it does. Inflation is created when the government floods the economy with massive amounts of cash, takes the money off of a base where it's worth comes from, (eg. The Gold Standard) and makes it worthless by doing so. To make it short, increasing the minimum wage will probably boost our economy greatly.
That's one side of the argument.
Here's the other.
Increasing the minimum wage increases unemployment, and also sends prices for goods skyrocketing. With increased mandatory wages, businesses can support fewer employees and therefore will fire some of them and raise the working hours of the others. If they don't take that approach, they will keep all of their employees, but raise their prices in order to be able to support their people - therefore making it even harder on those already unemployed. It's a lose-lose situation.
Personally, I lean towards the second point. It just makes more sense to me. But for this post I'm not going to take either of those sides. I'm going to create a new side.

Minimum wage kills creativity.

It's true. It really does. Do you know what minimum wage does? It gives a person a secure living. It makes them comfortable. They don't have to worry about getting a pay cut. They can make a solid budget based on a steady income and live by it. And they'll probably live very well in comparison to the common man of the last 200 years. But... Do you know what makes creativity?
Desperation.
It's the fear that one's family will go hungry that has driven many people to succeed. If a good living isn't guaranteed, one is forced to get creative, or give up. This type of desperation has started a million businesses. Patented inventions. Made a better employee, and a better employer. Desperation and unwillingness to fail has changed the world, and improved a lot of people in the meantime.
Don't stop it, please.
There is a problem with what I have said here though. Things aren't the way they used to be. Nowadays a person can't just start their own business standing on a street corner and selling apples off of the tree in their backyard. Or start a mechanic's shop in their garage. Because in order to do these things, they have to have business licences from the government in order to sell food, or to fix cars, or anything else. They have regulations holding them back. In reality, a broke person in modern America can't do anything for themselves anymore. They can't even hunt or fish for their own living. It's illegal without a license. So maybe minimum wage is the way to go. Maybe it is the way to help people. But I don't think so. I fear that increasing minimum wage will lead the people to be more dependent on the government. And with more dependence on the government by the people comes more power in the government. It's a trap, really. From the first welfare check handed out and the first employment law put into place, the people have slowly been sucked into what is now nearing complete dependence on the government. So really, minimum wage is only a small part of a large problem.
The problem of government being where it shouldn't be and doing what it shouldn't do.
I'm out of words for now. But do me a favor please and put some thought into what I have said. Think about how much the government really does for you. From road construction and snow removal to minimum wage and business regulations. From education to healthcare. They play a much larger part in your life than I can say, and it's not a good thing.
Stay free, my friends.