I'm a hypothetical young worker looking for a job. I have no experience in construction and you see me as green and unskilled. Can I have a job at 15 dollars an hour? I'm not very good at construction btw, but looking to gain experience. Am I the guy you're going to hire? What if I offered to work for 9.50 an hour? I really want experience in XYZ industry, but I'm not very skilled yet.
I, the hypothetical young worker, have been out of work for my whole life, and would love to start a career in construction, but nobody will reply to my applications!! i wonder why! Maybe it's because I'm offering to work for 15 an hour when my skills are only worth 10 an hour.
You seem to have contempt for the little kid living at home, but that's where his career starts. He's not supposed to bring in a living wage, he's supposed to gain experience working. I never made a living wage mowing lawns and shoveling driveways either. You won't give him the experience he's looking for because you instead want to help someone older make a living wage. That kid will in turn likely never work in construction because nobody took him under their wing. He'll likely resent the person making 15 an hour and wonder why he was never given a chance, likely getting his first job at mcdonalds instead. The long term projection of this is that the new generation starts later and later, with fewer and fewer opportunities to succeed..