… is from pages 367-368 of Russ’s essay – “Why Software Really Will Eat the World – and Whether We Should Worry” – in the it’s-so-hot-off-the-press-it’s-not-yet-available-online, Winter 2016 issue of The Independent Review:
Government does many stupid and wasteful things, but that doesn’t stop creative, driven people from continuing to innovate. It doesn’t stop my kids from getting a decent education. But it stops other kids who are growing up in more challenging circumstances from participating in the parts of the economy that remain dynamic. The minimum wage and our lousy public schools don’t hurt my kids. But they hurt millions of others. I don’t know if the digital revolution will weaken the public-school monopoly or force public schools to do a better job. But if we want a future where all people have a decent chance to flourish, introducing a little more competition into schools and labor markets would go a long way.
Yes indeed. Note that Russ correctly understands that, contrary to the economically naive claims of many proponents of the minimum wage (some of whom, sigh, are credentialed economists), the minimum wage introduces monopoly power into labor markets rather than serves as a curative for such power.
