"The bottom line: Opposition to higher minimum wage laws is increasingly based in ideology and orthodoxy rather than real-world evidence, economists say."
We can't be treating all changes in minimum wages equally. Those quoted in the sources were very minor changes that may simply reflect what the market price for low-end labor already is.
It is common sense that raises in wages must result in either reduced profits or increased prices. Of course profits can be reduced, but not below zero, at least not indefinitely. Naturally, profit margins in industries employing lots of low-end labor are already low. Of course prices can be raised, but that erodes purchasing power and competitiveness.
Unprofitable companies signal wasteful allocation of resources, and higher prices tend to hit those at the bottom the most.
There is a sweet spot where surplus profits can be transferred to the workers through an optimum fixed wage, but that number would be different for every region and every industry.
Absent a safety net for those workers that may be priced out of the market, I concur with the following assessment[1]:
"One can find plenty of economists on the left and right who think that while $15 an hour may make sense for some companies, a one-size-fits-all approach for businesses big and small around the country is a “risk not worth taking,” as former Obama White House economist Alan Krueger has put it."
We can't be treating all changes in minimum wages equally. Those quoted in the sources were very minor changes that may simply reflect what the market price for low-end labor already is.
It is common sense that raises in wages must result in either reduced profits or increased prices. Of course profits can be reduced, but not below zero, at least not indefinitely. Naturally, profit margins in industries employing lots of low-end labor are already low. Of course prices can be raised, but that erodes purchasing power and competitiveness.
Unprofitable companies signal wasteful allocation of resources, and higher prices tend to hit those at the bottom the most.
There is a sweet spot where surplus profits can be transferred to the workers through an optimum fixed wage, but that number would be different for every region and every industry.
Absent a safety net for those workers that may be priced out of the market, I concur with the following assessment[1]:
"One can find plenty of economists on the left and right who think that while $15 an hour may make sense for some companies, a one-size-fits-all approach for businesses big and small around the country is a “risk not worth taking,” as former Obama White House economist Alan Krueger has put it."
[1] https://www.aei.org/articles/a-15-minimum-wage-is-great-for-...