Why doesn't the government create a minimum wage of $15/hour and then make it illegal for businesses to raise prices?

Most businesses run on about a 1% to 2% profit.  That means that for every item they sell less than 2% of the profit - that is money that is above what it cost them to produce and ship the item.  About 70% of most businesses cost is labor.  If you double the cost of the labor, that is a 70% increase in the cost of producing an item.  The business is only make 1% to 2%.  At their current price they can not pay the labor cost.  So they have to shut down the business.

A bill that increases labor cost but also freezes prices would cause thousands of business to go bankrupt and shut down.  Or move their produce overseas where they can use slave labor for $5 a day.  The economy would collapse and no one would have a job.

This was actually tired in the 1970's when inflation had spun out of control due to the oil shortage.  Nixon put in place a price freeze that did not allow any companies to raise their prices for anything.  (It did not include a higher minimum wage.)  The results was once of the times of highest employment, lowest productivity and declining stock markets since the Great Depression.  It was the main reason that Carter got elected President by asking the question "Are you better off then you were four years ago?"

Artificial wage increases and price control do not work.  They crash the economy every time they are tired.

For your scheme to work they would also have to prevent businesses from going bankrupt.

The problem with your thinking is that you think that anyone who makes an "Open for Business" sign immediately becomes as rich as the Rockefellers and is just selfishly keeping all the money for themselves.

So where does the extra money come from to pay the $15/hour? Duh!

Because they can't do that, that's why.  For a government to wield that kind of power, they would first have to do a complete revolution.  Kind of like the stuff everyone saw in Germany with Hitler, in Russia with Lenin, or what's still happening in China and North Korea.  What you're suggesting requires a government with ultimate power, which doesn't happen in the free civilized world.

Even if a government can force a private business to raise their wages while freezing their prices, no government can force anyone to invest in private business.  The government can't force existing investors to keep their money in a failing business.  Once all the investors pull their money out of failing businesses, those businesses have to close down.   Governments also can't force businesses to stay open.

Many small businesses would not be able to make a profit, when you include their overhead costs to exist, and then raise their overhead an additional $3, $5, or $10 dollars per hour(depending on what state we're looking at) to reach $15/hour per employee. This increase in pay also means an increase in the employers' cost for workman's comp insurance & unemployment insurance, which they are also required to have. It is a farce that owning a businesses means you are swimming in surplus cash. Many times the profit varies by season, if there is a profit, instead of a loss month. This is a huge amount of overhead to add to any business, especially if it is not a gradual increase and just flat out jumps to $15/hr, per employee in a place like L.A.(where I live) where it is the 2nd most expensive rental/housing market in the nation in competition with New York. One would have to increase customer prices, not just to swim in surplus, but to actually survive as a functioning business. The goal, is always to make a profit, not to just provide a fun place for customer's to enjoy themselves while you the business owner earn no money. I'm not against the increase in minimum wage, Im just saying yes, one would need to increase customer pricing.

Price controls were tried in the 1970s, it was devastating to jobs and the economy

And then all the businesses go bankrupt.

GREAT PLAN you got there, Sport !!

I thought Americans were supposed to be smart !!

"Why doesn't the gov make it illegal for businesses to close their doors?"

Ok, but then are you going to make it illegal for them to lay people off?

Think.  If they cannot raise prices, they will reduce head count.  You know it and I know it.

The democrats already kill enough small business at it is.