Republicans have seized on a study that predicts that increasing the minimum wage would eliminate 500,000 jobs but lift 900,000 workers out of poverty.

The minimum wage needs to be combined with a welfare system for those who are unemployed. That way, all low-paid workers benefit, whether they are still working or not.

To work out an example, suppose half a million jobs are eliminated, and 50 million minimum-wage workers get a raise. If those workers pay 3% of their increase in income as tax, that would cover the costs of supporting the other half-million, and all will be better off than they are now.

This sort of system to transfer income from the rich (who have grabbed an ever-increasing share) to the rest is exactly what we need.