"Raising the minimum wage reduces employment" is wrong for the same reason "Raising taxes on the rich reduces employment" is wrong.
Both assume that we live in a perfect capitalist system without friction or corruption, where thanks to the invisible hand of the market owners of the means of production can only extract as much capital as the markets will bear.
It should be obvious that's poppycock to anyone with a brain.
#capitalism #economics #EatTheRich
@jik although clearly at some point raising the minimum is going to fail, otherwise why not make it $500 / hour and we would all be rich?
What about $50 / hour? Do you think that would work?
Corruption and friction may be a problem, but they don't negate the underlying relationship that a price floor above the market will reduce volume compared to what it otherwise would have been.
@NosirrahSec @jik sure, because you don't increase it enough to have discernable effect beyond the noise of general economic activity. Only 1% of USA are on minimum wage. My point was that increasing it to something like $500/hour (or even $50/hour) *would* have an effect - do you disagree with that?
@sgryphon @jik that's a literal non-argument, though.
It's not real idea anyone is advocating for, has no purpose, and makes no sense to even talk about.