… is from page 293 of David Neumark’s and William L. Wascher’s 2008 book, Minimum Wages; note that this conclusion is reached by Neumark and Wascher after an exhaustive, careful, and dispassionate review of the theoretical and empirical literature on minimum wages:
Minimum wages have a number of alluring features. They are simple to implement. They do not have to be funded by federal or state governments and hence do not get caught up in budget battles (although of course minimum wages do impose costs). And, they have an appealing moral sensibility. However, these features of minimum wages are misleadingly seductive. Minimum wages do not deliver on their goal of improving the lives of low-wage workers, low-skill individuals, and low-income families.
