In Germany and the Nordic states wages are largely controlled by the powerful trade unions, the likes of which do not exist in the US and likely could not exist under current labor laws. Without powerful trade unions to set the floor, we have minimum wages. The alternative - allowing poverty wages - ensures the success of business models that can only survive by employing workers who rely on state aid (or are otherwise destitute). In effect, removing the wage floor just makes government bigger and almost everyone poorer.