I think the federal minimum wage only covers federal employees. There's a big difference between a minimum wage and a living wage.
You would be wrong about how the federal minimum wage only covers federal employees.
And you are right that there is a difference between a minimum wage and a 'living' wage, depending upon a bunch of different factors, including...and probably most importantly...the expectations of the standard of living of the worker.
Which, in THIS country, are very, very high. We here in the USA don't really have any idea what true poverty is. I have a hint, from my childhood, but even what my mother and I remember doesn't come close to what truly poverty stricken people elsewhere in the world deal with.
Employers are not supposed to see to it that their employees are paid well enough to live in their own homes with 60 inch flat screen TV's, a car, internet access, cell phones and all the bells and whistles. They are supposed to pay their employees what their work is worth.
And their work is worth what their productivity does for the employer. That's it. Are you going to tell me that a kid whose job is "Do you want fries with that?" is producing enough profit for his employer to pay for all the above? How about the greeter at Walmart (who gets $15 an hour where I live)? Does s/he produce enough profit for WalMart to justify that 'living wage' you want?
Here's how you get that 'living wage." You enter the work force at the beginning, at a beginner's pay. You prove your worth, and get raises, or you take your experience and find another job with better pay. Or you use that beginning pay (and living with your parents or roommates) to further your education, and you take THAT and get a better job with more pay. As you become more valuable to the folks you work for, you get paid better, until you can afford that house, the TV, the car and all the bells and whistles.
That's how it's done.
And, since slavery has been abolished for a rather long time, if your employer doesn't pay you what you are worth, you are quite free to go find someone who will. And your employer, knowing this, is either going to say 'good riddance because you weren't worth your paycheck' or else he'll give you a raise.
And if he says 'good riddance,' he will have to find someone who WILL work for what he is willing to pay. Good luck with that. Especially now, when the unemployment rate is at 3.6%...meaning that there are more jobs out there than there are people to fill them.
As it turns out, the jobs going begging are the ones that pay the best, too.