This is a very complicated discussion and of course the people doing the hiring will pay people as little as they can in order to make more money for themselves. But, the situation is not so simple that operators can simply pay people way less than their work is "worth" and get away with it. If the work has more value then there should always be someone else who will pay more for it. This is sort of happening now - since people are being paid more to not work, through increased unemployment payments, companies are being forced to offer higher wages to entice people to come back to work. Employers are being forced to compete for labor against the government (who is providing the enhanced unemployment) instead of other employers.
At the minimum wage level it seems that people needing work typically outnumber the jobs - that is why employers can get away with paying the minimum. And that is why the protections of the minimum wage are needed - and should increase with increased cost of living.