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Cato’s Michael Cannon is justifiably proud that some folks over at the New Republic are unhappy with his steadfast opposition to Obamacare.

John Goodman reminds us of this superb brief essay by David Henderson, from 2006, on the damage done by minimum-wage legislation.

And although it’s nearly 19 years old – but not quite as old as the 1994 American Economic Review article by David Card and Alan Kruegerthis paper by Richard Vedder and Lowell Gallaway on the damage done by minimum-wage legislation is also worth reading.

Continuing on with explanations of the damage done by minimum-wage legislation, here’s a short essay by Pamela Villarreal.

Andrew Biggs discusses the New York Times’s illogic on minimum-wage legislation.  A slice:

For instance, look at the fast food industry, which employs a lot of lower-skilled, lower-paid employees. Since 1987, output per hour in all non-farm businesses has risen by around 71%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an annual rate of 2.19%. The Times’ logic says wages in the fast food industry should have risen by a like amount. But BLS data show that productivity at self-serve restaurants has risen only by 0.45% annually since 1987, for total growth of 12%.

The simple fact is that if fast food restaurants increased wages by 71% over a period in which their own labor productivity rose by only 12%, they’d be out of business. Ask yourself: do shuttered businesses pay higher wages than firms that remain in business? If not, you might want to think twice about that $15 minimum wage.

And now for the damage done by minimum-wage legislation combined with Obamacare, check out this essay in yesterday’s Investor’s Business Daily.  (HT W.E. Heasley)  Its headline says it all:

$10 Minimum Wage + ObamaCare = 70% Labor Cost Hike

Walter Grinder points us to this essay by Jim Powell on Algernon Sidney.

Sarah Skwire is always a joy to read.

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