Do minimum wage laws help low-skilled workers? No. Workers are thrown out of work if they cannot produce more than the minimum wage stipulates. If the minimum wage is $15/hour and a worker can only produce $13/hour worth of goods, they will not be hired since no profit-seeking employer would employ someone at a loss.
Early proponents of the minimum wage advocated it not in spite of, but for its deleterious effects on minority populations.
Preston Cooper over at Economics 21 has written an excellent piece about minimum wage’s effects on employment. Economics teaches us that when you raise the price of a good, the amount of that good which is demanded goes down. This is true whether the thing for sale is ketchup or labor. Supporters of the minimum […]