I don't think a dishwasher would ever make as much as a doctor or someone in skilled trades unless the dishwasher applied himself, got a better or more education in a particular field, and changed jobs. Of course, that's where the skill part comes in, and with that new job would come more responsibility for his own actions (which seems to be missing in American life now). After leaving the assembly (union) job, each of my new ones required more education and skill, and definitely more responsibility. The IS position I retired from required the most of all, but I still didn't earn as much as an assembly line worker at a U.S. automaker's unionized plant. But that was my decision to leave that job, so I can't blame them for what I don't make. Hey, that's the American way- get as much as you can, and if you don't want to learn a skill, join a union.
And yes, the minimum wage is pathetic. A 40 hour week would keep a SINGLE person below the poverty level, much less a family.
SC Tom