With respect, it is an overly simplistic and in many cases an unrealistic concept though.

The systems we have in place ensure that regardless of education, work ethic, or the state of the job market overall, to enable a proportion of society to become wealthy, there has to be a proportion of society that remain low paid.

If absolutely everyone did exactly as you suggest above, it would inevitably mean that we would just see more refuse collectors with a degree for example.

It is important to understand this, if absolutely everyone worked harder as you put it and if absolutely everyone got a better education, it would not change anything. There would still have to be a proportion of society in low paid jobs, regardless of effort.

One also has to think about the academic capabilities of some within society, not everyone is the same.

Some people are just not able to academically shine, this does not make them less of a person does it? Does this mean it is their own fault that they have to struggle to feed their families, to make ends meet. Does this mean they should have to work 2 or 3 jobs just to keep their heads above water?

What about the vulnerable in your society, those who for a myriad of reasons are not capable of bettering themselves, the situation is not black and white, this is the problem.

Some people can work extremely hard and still get absolutely nowhere, the economic systems in place, by their very nature will always ensure this is so, for a considerable percentage of society.

To try to make sure that those who fall into the very low paid category, are not left behind, I see no moral reason why they should not at least, be paid a livable wage. The UK model has shown that it does not have to be a bad move, far from it.