Business is about making a profit. To be successful, i.e. to make a profit, a business must receive more for the product or service provided than it cost to produce it. That cost includes every expense that must be incurred to produce the product or service. If the price doesn’t cover the cost AND provide a sufficient excess, the business will die.
In the society where we all live, the USA, there are certain things we expect from all the members of the society and there are certain rights we believe everyone, EVERYONE is entitled to. As Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, we believe that ALL are entitled to Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. In fact, be believe that these are God given, unalienable rights. When one of the members of a society is meeting our expectations (i.e. working) but is still unable to achieve the God given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the society steps in to help; because that’s what societies do. When a member can’t meet the expectations of society (due to disability, age, illness, or an employer who won’t pay a decent wage) society steps in to help with public housing, Food Stamps, Medicaid, WIC, etc. because we believe that EVERYONE has the same God given Rights to these things. But society should not HAVE to step in and provide these things to people who are meeting our expectations and working. When a business doesn’t pay workers enough to allow them to achieve their God given rights and society has to step in, the business is receiving welfare because it is not receiving enough from the sale of it’s product or service to cover cost and despite the Supreme Court’s decision that businesses are people, they are NOT and they DO NOT have God given rights. They have only the rights given to them by the society they are part of. That’s why they have to have licenses and meet standards of health and safety etc. That’s why they are not entitled to welfare, directly or indirectly. That’s why we have a minimum wage. That’s why the minimum wage MUST be enough for a a person working 40 hours a week to provide Life, Liberty, and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS to the worker AND dependents. That’s right, a person working 40 hours a week should receive enough to support him/herself AND a spouse and 2 kids. No family should have to have 2 incomes just to make ends meet.