That is a factor Shadow Skill, but it's the prevailing mindset in the US that jobs that pay minimum to low wages are not meant to support a person into adulthood, regardless of changes to the cost of living. These fast food jobs are no different from any other low-skill low-pay job, but people who start there as teens get comfortable and continue on into their 20s and 30s working the same job. They don't improve themselves or get promoted to higher paying jobs, and the skills they learn on the job won't help them find better paying jobs. Yet now they want to be paid more so they can support themselves while doing the same shitty job (pun intended) they've been doing. Too bad for them, if they refuse to work for those minimum wages, a less jaded and probably more energetic and dedicated teenager will take the job.