knowledge, motives and creativity-- on the minimum wage and the working poor

Here are some ways to separate people by motive, knowledge, and/or creativity on the issue of the minimum wage (MW):

a.) offer to reduce or eliminate the 15.3% FICA taxes on EVERY dollar of income earned by the working poor (no exemptions / no deductions like the "income tax" gets);

b.) offer wage subsidies for low-paid heads of household instead;

c.) offer to raise the EITC instead;
and d.) offer to raise the MW for those who aren't teenagers.

All of these do a better job of helping the targeted group-- while lessening or eliminating the costs/damage of a higher MW.

If they don't go for these policy suggestions-- or come up with really good reasons to avoid these policies-- then you can know that a.) their motives are something other (e.g, to help unions or to harm business); b.) their knowledge is lacking (although you've just helped them there, so...); or c.) their policy creativity is woeful (see also: ability to assimilate knowledge).

The latter two remind me of Brian Regan on the kid who keeps using the same solar system for his science project: "The big yellow one is the Sun. The big yellow one is the sun!" Check out this video, starting at 1:26.