punisher2006 on Raise the minimum wage

Lobachevsky hit the nail on the head; theoretically, the minimum wage creates unemployment. Raising it may cause further unemployment. Empirically there is little clear answer as to what the actual effect of a minimum wage increase is, because in the short run wages tend to be sticky and inflexible. In the long run I feel it may cause problems.

Without a minimum wage, unemployment beyond structural and frictional employment may be reduced somewhat further, and workers would earn equilibrium wage, which would, seemingly, be lower than the minimum wage. It's a trade-off, really.

For those out there who are curious, I'd classify myself as socially left but economically center-right.