[lbo-talk] What's the deal with conservatives, economists, and the minimum wage?

[ravi]

At around 18/1/07 2:45 am, Jason McCullough wrote:
> I'm curious about the list's opinion on this, especially Doug and
> Dsquared, who I think have discussed this a bit before.
> 
> I've been in what seems like a never ending argument over the last
> couple weeks with some conservatives, and one economist in
> particular, on a message board I hang out on.  There's an
> unbelievable level of certainty on the right, especially with
> economists on the right, that the minimum wage's impact is not only
> significantly negative on employment, but significantly negative on
> the net welfare of the people having those jobs.
> 
> <...>
> 

This is what happens when you fail to consult the world's most
irrelevant, obscure and boring blog:

http://platosbeard.org/archives/257

A link to an EPI (alert: partisan) study of minimum wage hikes
independently carried out by states, and the results.

=> Have these state actions had any effect? Are wages higher than they
=> would have otherwise been, i.e., are these higher minimums reaching
=> their intended beneficiaries? Is employment worse than it would have
=> otherwise been? The evidence presented here suggests that the answers
=> are, respectively, yes, yes, and no.

They have graphs, data, etc. I am not an economist and I found
statistics the most boring part of my degree in mathematics, so don't
take my opinion for much.

If you want to look for opposing [attempts at] arguments head on over to
the Hudson Institute.

	--ravi