Noonan responded: "And WTF with comparing the *average* wage with a minimum?"
In principal, & in the present context, it is legitimate to compare an average with a minimum. Although it perhaps seems that these are two incommensurable quantities, you might re-consider this position by reflecting on the coefficient of variation, i.e., the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean. Reasoning similar to yours might lead one to believe that the coefficient of variation contains no useful information, which is not the case. In any case, the ratio of the German minimum to the U.S. average does capture useful information about the income distribution.
epoliticus