Hence minimum wage: if you can’t produce enough, you’re not allowed to produce at all.
The perspective on “produce enough” looks awfully different from ivory towers, vs those not allowed to earn lunch money.
California (and New York) have gone a long way towards creating a large black-market economy. I deal with some small immigrant distributors for a food-chemical ingredient we sell. They pay us cash, up-front, every time. I know they sell the product for cash also. Someone in their extended family has registered a company, but I doubt they pay any taxes at all. Its not huge business, but not small either ($50K per month). Keeps them eligible for welfare as well, I imagine.