This, "if we have to pay more, then people will lose jobs", is a Republican boogie man. The absurd infinitum is that corporations would pay zero and use slaves if they could.

The pay-line above which a corporation will value automating over having an employee, is always moving for every job, and yes, they will automate jobs 'No-Matter-What-The-Minimum-Wage'. Jobs today that are minimum wage are already at risk for being automated and eliminated, changing the minimum wage only hastens or pushes out the time frame. It will happen.

Thus Increasing minimum wage is only forcing corporations to not use slaves. To keep the population above some starving threshold.

And of course, it pumps money back into economy since people have to spend their pay.