>...but the automation / negative outcomes of menial labor being too expensive to hire for will happen whether or not the official minimum wage is increased.
This is true, but obviously the rate at which this happens will matter.
In 1900, 41 percent of the US workforce was employed in agriculture. Due to increasing use of technology, 70 years later only 4 percent of the labor force worked in agriculture. If that loss of jobs had happened in say 20 years instead of 70 years, it obviously would have been a much more painful transition.
This is true, but obviously the rate at which this happens will matter.
In 1900, 41 percent of the US workforce was employed in agriculture. Due to increasing use of technology, 70 years later only 4 percent of the labor force worked in agriculture. If that loss of jobs had happened in say 20 years instead of 70 years, it obviously would have been a much more painful transition.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/44197/13566_ei...