A $20 minimum wage mandatory does not make sense, neither did a $15$ nor does any other price.
(1) It is not up to a government to interfere in any kind of private business, in any kind of free agreement between consenting adult citizens, whether in the market or in the bedroom or in free speech. A mandatory wage fixed by the government is equivalent to a dictatorship.
(2) A free market would and should determine prices. Forcing employers to pay a higher salary to their employees would have as an effect either (a) a price increase of the products, creating inflation, the employees having then to pay more for the product they participated in its production, and the inflation sweeping the benefit of the salary increase, or (b) the creation of a black market, agreements hidden from the government, or (c) reduced economic activities, some employers not being able to hold on their businesses
(3) All of us want to better the lives of the less powerful. In order to do that, we shall institute the Minimum Livable Income which will enable employees to negotiate a salary with their employers in a stronger position, not being needy, so that nobody would need to prostitute oneself. The present system is in favor of prostitution calling it shamelessly "the oldest profession on Earth". Yes, poverty was the oldest situation on Earth.
4) (a) we shall always respect the "free market'' and prohibit any dictator's interference in it, whether the government or other powers (like monopolies), but
(b) in order to protect the public and the environment, things that are of public interest and of environmental interest shall not be allowed to trade in the private market, instead shall be public property, like the environment itself, waters, forests, mines, gas and oil exploitation (or non-exploitation), electricity companies and any other companies that have a kind of monopoly, national railroads, and the likes. I suggested to Dimitri Laskaris in our private conversation, and I do recommend to all Green Party candidates, that, since INTERAC is being used by all Canadians Debit-cardholders, the benefit of it shall become a source of government income, and not of private banks.
c) A Green government shall also issue a Credit card by Canada's Central Bank or another Public Bank it will create, the benefits of which to go to public shareholders of the Bank, that is Canadians people.
These initiatives and others that I have in mind will enable a Green government to decrease taxes, to give economic security to all citizens through the MLI, and to stop the government from acting like dictators (fixing prices and conditions) or highway robbers (forcing people they have been labeling "taxpayers" to give part of their money! It shall also stop the dictatorship of powerful private money and companies that act also like highway robbers.
