The point is that Americans should be paid enough to live on, period.
Evil , seductive idea.
People that do not create , are fed of pity.
People that create , create money , only if their creation is good for another person.
It was just recently I listened to a pundit explain this issue, in a far clearer ideological manner. To folks on the left, certain things that they have decided, in a group think manner, just must be. Such a universal health care or the idea of a living wage. Such concepts are noble, and as you rightly refer to here, as seductive. They're sold on an emotional level however, because in the arena of reality, especially, in a free market system that the United States functions in, those "ideas" are disastrous, leading to still more and more folks beholden to Government services
And that's kicker. To folks like Obama, success of a society is determined by how many folks can be helped/supported by Government services. The greater the #, the more "successful", Government must be functioning.
It's also feeds the notion of how "caring" Democrats are, and now "evil" Republicans are, for daring to want to "kick grandma onto the streets". Emotion is a strong weapon of the left. It doesn't require any facts to debunk reality of who's paying for all the services. You find a boogeyman (be it evil conservatives, white racist cops, hateful republicans, Fox News), and proclaim that's the reason you can't get a job, or that some CEO is making a bazillion dollars to your minimum wage. No facts necessary, just raw emotion
So it matters not how many small businesses are put put out of business with "living wage" cries. It matters not how many people lose their jobs. It matters not that the increased costs get slapped on those who can least afford it. Because if that happens, it just means more people that will need Government "help".........whaalaaaa.........success