A gradual increase in the minimum wage to $15 is a good idea. In response to a comment that the minimum wage is for unskilled or unlearned workers is flatly wrong. There are skilled workers that earn the minimum wage; the problem is that there are to many jobs (created to specifically lower labor costs) that don't actually require a base of skills which in turn allow businesses to pay workers a low wage. Labor has always been the escape goat for pro-business entities. When ironically, paying a fair wage affords workers the ability to spend more and create economic activity. There is some truth that higher wages get passed on to consumers but in most cases it is not a one-to-one ratio. In essence, a higher minimum wage is a redistribution of income that executives view as either hurting their pockets or the bottom line of the business they oversee.