Inflating entry-level pay risks shutting young workers out of the most reliable path to skill development and long-term earnings.

When Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani recently rallied with striking Starbucks workers, they trumpeted a “New York where every worker can live a life of decency.” Mr. Mamdani promised a $30 minimum wage in the name of dignity on the campaign trail. Their intentions might be noble; their logic isn’t. By artificially hiking entry-level wages through political mandates rather than skills, productivity or experience, they don’t lift up workers; they wall off the very on-ramp to mobility.

We know this firsthand. Neither of our first real jobs was glamorous. They were at McDonald’s in Iron Mountain, Michigan (Scott) and Kmart in Midland, Michigan (Dan). We started at fries and collecting carts, but gradually both moved up to drive-thru, cashier and managing people and closing shifts. Eventually, our responsibilities included inventory, scheduling, customer-service recoveries and profit margins. It was the best business education of our lives. Call it a ketchup-stained, “blue light special” MBA. We didn’t have elite networks, legacy connections or wealthy mentors. We had a crew uniform and accountability. McDonald’s and Kmart didn’t just teach us how to work — they taught us how to lead.

People sneer at “burger-flipping” and “cart-pushing” but many of America’s best managers, franchise owners and entrepreneurs cut their teeth behind those stainless-steel counters and carts. One in eight Americans has worked at McDonald’s at some point. Entry-level jobs are not “traps” that freeze workers in poverty. They are on-ramps: the place where inexperienced workers merge into the labor market and start accelerating. Even a glance at the numbers dispels the caricature. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about one percent of hourly US workers — roughly 842,000 people — earn at or below the federal minimum wage. Nearly half are under 25. Most work part-time. Many are students or first-time entrants. These roles are training grounds, not endpoints. Teens in low-wage jobs tend to move to higher-paying ones. Wages tend to rise as productivity rises, not because lawmakers decree it.

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