Unpopular opinion: Until we get kids to buckle down and take their education seriously and put some effort into making themselves more valuable in the workplace, the "living wage" is just a very expensive circle jerk.

My son (21) and his friends totally slacked off during high school, barely passing most classes but graduating because APS said he had to. He began working at a minimum wage job out of high school, which was all that he's qualified for.

My daughter (23) busted her hump during HS, earned a 4.+ GPA, got scholarships, graduated from UNM in 4 years, and found a good paying job here in Albuquerque.

I raised these kids the same. They're both great kids. Kind, courteous, respectful - but there's a big difference in their work ethic. My son thinks it's unfair that his sister has a job that pays so much more than his, is going to buy a house soon, has no student loan debt, and has money to go out when she wants to. He makes minimum wage. I have to bite my tongue not to remind him that he didn't give a rats backside about preparing himself for the real world. Every time I'd try to work with him to get him caught up in classes, he just dug his heels in and said "it doesn't matter". It was frustrating and stressful, but I tried to make him see the value of bettering himself.

Now he wants a "living wage" so he can lead a life more like his sister. Frankly this whole movement is happening at the perfect time to reward him for not bothering to put in any effort in HS. I love him to death and more power to him if he can pull it off, but really he's just "failing upwards". He has no incentive to better himself because his basic needs are paid for. Good for him, and good for me because I won't have to be his safety net.

I think giving people the means and incentive to better themselves and find better paying jobs is a better approach than throwing money at them. Pay for daycare, pay for job training, but my son will only bother to do it if he gets hungry enough.