Why is the proposed solution always to just pay people more and not just make things cost less? The only reason I can find is that making things cost less doesn't provide a scapegoat for everybody to rally behind, even though it would be more effective.
Money is a means of determining the distribution of resources. It doesn't matter if stuff costs less or if people make more money, what matters is that nessecities, at a minimum, are more equitably distributed. You can make that end goal take different forms. Money is a little awkward for that end because you use money to purchase both food and nice cars.