Rich people don't create jobs; customers do

[thesquanderer]

11. This is also why a higher minimum wage generally won't cause layoffs.

In general, businesses are already operating with no more employees than they must have in order to function. Like you say, they are not charities. If they need x employees, that's what they hire, and they're not going to lay one off because he's about to cost another $50 or $100 a week. If they could get by without him, he'd already be gone.

The possible exception is if higher wages causes a company to raise its prices. If the higher prices then lead to lower sales, they might be able to then get by with fewer employees. But that's a kind of "perfect storm" scenario that will be an exception rather than the rule. Often, a company's sales should increase with higher prevailing wages because more people will be able to afford their product or service.