Why do so many fast food places only pay minimum wage and throw a hissy fit whenever someone proposes raising it? Why don’t they simply pay their workers more?

Cause the workers are expendable and their exploitation has been normalized to the point that there is no monetary incentive to pay more. Yes, there are restaurants that do pay more, but it’s often driven from some other ideology, not just trying to make the most money, and most consumers honestly don’t care. The same consumer will sometimes visit McDonald’s, Chik fil a, or In n Out regardless of workers pay, hell I even know a few gay people that turn a blind eye to owner politics when visiting restaurants. 'Cause at the end of the day people are turning up for convenience or to satiate a particular craving, not because one company pays more.

There’s a difference between economic theory and economic reality. People aren’t exactly rational when it comes to emotional things like “I’m earning less right now.” Even if the end result could be more income later, they refuse to accept that and say “well they’re charging x and paying y so I can get away with that too! Leaving money on the table is stupid!”

I think a not insignificant portion of business owners/CEOs all fail the marshmallow test.