I think that those making a living (and many are) at the bottom of the wrung deserved it. Frankly, in a "Free market" economy, if you set a wage at $2.50/hr you'll find some poor desperate soul to take it.. so I see the minimum wage is a no brainer. I used to be a complete free market believer in my younger days, but the free market can only work and work fairly in a moral and Christian (replace that with your religion of choice) society, otherwise human greed with take hold and take advantage.
I mean a good example of the "Free market" is the commuters.. look at the number of guys lined up to interview for $15,000/yr jobs..
Don't you think a minimum wage for an ATP should also be looked into? Sure the airline tickets may go up a few bucks, who cares?
Rant over..