[cratermoon]

> Nobody other than the mangers did it to support a family. It was never understood to be that kind of job

Wrong.

"From the beginning, the minimum wage was meant to be a living wage—meaning families could live off of the pay comfortably, rather than struggling paycheck-to-paycheck" https://www.lendio.com/blog/minimum-wage-livable/

[hed]

There are claims that it was meant to keep black people out of the workforce.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriesheffield/2014/04/29/on-t...

[mortehu]

The linked article doesn't really substantiate that claim, and even so it doesn't actually contradict GP's claim about the McDonald's job.

[cratermoon]

You're correct, McDonald's (and plenty of other large employers) probably never thought or cared whether or not their minimum wage jobs were for teenagers or parents with families. To them, it was just the least they were legally allowed to pay, and therefore just a cost to be minimized as much as possible.