The premise of the question is wrong. American politicians across the political spectrum are obsessed with stimulating demand for labor and equipping workers for higher-productivity tasks, which is approximately the extent to which government can "provide" more dignified private-sector wages. For all their blunders, our median incomes are among the highest in the world, higher than in countries like France and Germany with more emphasis on minimum standards.
The least dignified thing you can be in America is unemployed. So yes, we will let people have marginal jobs rather than having them subsist entirely on welfare.
The second least dignified thing you can be in America is a renter. A dignified family owns a detached house with a generous backyard. Land is a zero-sum resource, and America's productive cities have reached their horizontal scaling limits. More labor productivity / higher wages only serve to further inflate real estate markets; the number of households enjoying dignified lifestyles cannot grow.
The least dignified thing you can be in America is unemployed. So yes, we will let people have marginal jobs rather than having them subsist entirely on welfare.
The second least dignified thing you can be in America is a renter. A dignified family owns a detached house with a generous backyard. Land is a zero-sum resource, and America's productive cities have reached their horizontal scaling limits. More labor productivity / higher wages only serve to further inflate real estate markets; the number of households enjoying dignified lifestyles cannot grow.