Minimum Wage - a True Litmus Test

[Scooter]

The fallacy underlying your question is that, absent a minimum wage, the wages paid by employers actually represent the "economic value" of the work received. Since it is usually true that employers have greater bargaining power than employees, they are in those circumstances able to drive wages below the "economic value" of the work being provided for them.

[Andrew D]

... the conventional wisdom and common sense that increasing the cost of labor reduces the amount of labor purchased in the market place.

As is all too often the case, the "conventional wisdom" is neither conventional nor wise, and the "common sense" is neither common nor sensical.

But don't take my word for it. Ask these people:

Kenneth Arrow, Nobel Laureate, Stanford University
Clive Granger, Nobel Laureate, University of California, San Diego
Lawrence Klein, Nobel Laureate, University of Pennsylvania
Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate, Columbia University

Henry Aaron, The Brookings Institution
William Baumol, Princeton University and New York University
Rebecca Blank, University of Michigan
Alan Blinder, Princeton University
Peter Diamond, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ronald Ehrenberg, Cornell University
Lawrence Katz, Harvard University (AEA Executive Committee)
Frank Levy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lawrence Mishel, Economic Policy Institute
Alice Rivlin,The Brookings Institution (former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve and Director of the Office of Management and Budget)
Katherine G. Abraham, University of Maryland
Frank Ackerman, Tufts University
F. Gerard Adams, Northeastern University
Randy Albelda, University of Massachusetts – Boston
James Albrecht, Georgetown University
Jennifer Alix-Garcia, University of Montana
Sylvia A. Allegretto, Economic Policy Institute
Beth Almeida, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Abbas Alnasrawi, University of Vermont
Gar Alperovitz, University of Maryland - College Park
Joseph Altonji, Yale University
Nurul Aman, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Teresa L. Amott, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Alice Amsden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bernard E. Anderson, University of Pennsylvania
Robert M. Anderson, University of California – Berkeley
Bahreinian Aniss, California State University – Sacramento
Kate Antonovics, University of California - San Diego
Eileen Appelbaum, Rutgers University
David D. Arsen, Michigan State University
Michael Ash, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Glen Atkinson, University of Nevada – Reno
Rose-Marie Avin, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
M.V. Lee Badgett, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Aniss Bahreinian, Sacramento City College
Ron Baiman, Loyola University Chicago
Asatar Bair, City College of San Francisco
Katie Baird, University of Washington – Tacoma
Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Radhika Balakrishnan, Marymount Manhattan College
Stephen E. Baldwin, KRA Corporation
Erol Balkan, Hamilton College
Jennifer Ball, Washburn University
Brad Barham, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Drucilla K. Barker, Hollins College
David Barkin, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana
James N. Baron, Yale University
Chuck Barone, Dickinson College
Christopher B. Barrett, Cornell University
Richard Barrett, University of Montana
Laurie J. Bassi, McBassi & Company
Francis M. Bator, Harvard University
Rosemary Batt, Cornell University
Sandy Baum, Skidmore College
Amanda Bayer, Swarthmore College
Sohrab Behdad, Denison University
Peter F. Bell, State University of New York – Purchase
Dale L. Belman, Michigan State University
Michael Belzer, Wayne State University
Lourdes Beneria, Cornell University
Barbara R. Bergmann, American University and University of Maryland
Eli Berman, University of California - San Diego
Alexandra Bernasek, Colorado State University
Jared Bernstein, Economic Policy Institute
Michael Bernstein, University of California - San Diego
Charles L. Betsey, Howard University
David M. Betson, University of Notre Dame
Carole Biewener, Simmons College
Sherrilyn Billger, Illinois State University
Richard E. Bilsborrow, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Cyrus Bina, University of Minnesota – Morris
Melissa Binder, University of New Mexico
L. Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute
Stanley Black, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Ron Blackwell, AFL – CIO
Margaret Blair, Vanderbilt University Law School
Gail Blattenberger, University of Utah
Robert A. Blecker, American University
Barry Bluestone, Northeastern University
Peter Bohmer, Evergreen State College
David Boldt, State University of West Georgia
Roger E. Bolton, Williams College
James F. Booker, Siena College
Jeff Bookwalter, University of Montana
Barry Bosworth, The Brookings Institution
Heather Boushey, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Roger Even Bove, West Chester University
Samuel Bowles, Santa Fe Institute
James K. Boyce, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Ralph Bradburd, Williams College
Michael E. Bradley, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Elissa Braunstein, Colorado State University
David Breneman, University of Virginia
Mark Brenner, Labor Notes Magazine
Vernon M. Briggs, Cornell University
Byron W. Brown, Michigan State University
Christopher Brown, Arkansas State University
Clair Brown, University of California – Berkeley
Philip H. Brown, Colby College
Michael Brun, Illinois State University
Neil H. Buchanan, Rutgers School of Law and New York University School of Law
Robert Buchele, Smith College
Stephen Buckles, Vanderbilt University
Stephen V. Burks, University Of Minnesota – Morris
Joyce Burnette, Wabash College
Paul D. Bush, California State University – Fresno
Alison Butler, Wilamette University
Antonio G. Callari, Franklin and Marshall College
Al Campbell, University of Utah
James Campen, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Maria Cancian, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Paul Cantor, Norwalk Community College
Anthony Carnevale, National Center on Education and the Economy
Jeffrey P. Carpenter, Middlebury College
Francoise Carre, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Michael J. Carter, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Susan B. Carter, University of California – Riverside
Karl E. Case, Wellesley College
J. Dennis Chasse, State University of New York – Brockport
Howard Chernick, Hunter College, City University of New York
Robert Cherry, Brooklyn College - City University of New York
Graciela Chichilnisky, Columbia University
Lawrence Chimerine, Radnor International Consulting, Inc.
Menzie D. Chinn, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Charles R. Chittle, Bowling Green State University
Kimberly Christensen, State University of New York – Purchase
Richard D. Coe, New College of Florida
Robert M. Coen, Northwestern University
Steve Cohn, Knox College
Rachel Connelly, Bowdoin College
Karen Smith Conway, University of New Hampshire
Patrick Conway, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
David R. Cormier, West Virginia University
James V. Cornehls, University of Texas - Arlington
Richard R. Cornwall, Middlebury College
Paul N. Courant, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
James R. Crotty, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
James M. Cypher, California State University – Fresno
Douglas Dalenberg, University of Montana
Herman E. Daly, University of Maryland
Anita Dancs, National Priorities Project
Nasser Daneshvary, University of Nevada - Las Vegas
David Danning, University of Massachusetts - Boston
Sheldon Danziger, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Jane D’Arista, Financial Markets Center
Paul Davidson, The New School for Social Research
Jayne Dean, Wagner College
Gregory E. DeFreitas, Hofstra University
Bradford DeLong, University of California – Berkeley
James G. Devine, Loyola Marymount College
Ranjit S. Dighe, State University of New York – Oswego
John DiNardo, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Randall Dodd, Financial Policy Forum
Peter B. Doeringer, Boston University
Peter Dorman, Evergreen State College
Robert Drago, Pennsylvania State University
Laura Dresser, University of Wisconsin
Richard B. Du Boff, Bryn Mawr College
Arindrajit Dube, University of California – Berkeley
Marie Duggan, Keene State College
Lloyd J. Dumas, University of Texas – Dallas
Christopher Dunn, Earth and Its People Foundation
Steven N. Durlauf, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Amitava K. Dutt, University of Notre Dame
Jan Dutta, Rutgers University
Gary A. Dymski, University of California – Riverside
Peter J. Eaton, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Fritz Efaw, University of Tennessee – Chattanooga
Catherine S. Elliott, New College of Florida
Richard W. England, University of New Hampshire
Ernie Englander, George Washington University
Gerald Epstein, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Sharon J. Erenburg, Eastern Michigan University
Susan L. Ettner, University of California - Los Angeles
Linda Ewing, United Auto Workers
Colleen A. Fahy, Assumption College
Loretta Fairchild, Nebraska Wesleyan University
David Fairris, University of California – Riverside
Warren E. Farb, International Capital Mobility Domestic Investment
Martin Farnham, University of Victoria
Jeff Faux, Economic Policy Institute
Sasan Fayazmanesh, California State University – Fresno
Rashi Fein, Harvard Medical School
Robert M. Feinberg, American University
Susan F. Feiner, University of Southern Maine
Marshall Feldman, University of Rhode Island
Marianne A. Ferber, University of Illinois - Urbana – Champaign
William D. Ferguson, Grinnell College
Rudy Fichtenbaum, Wright State University
Deborah M. Figart, Richard Stockton College
Bart D. Finzel, University of Minnesota – Morris
Lydia Fischer, United Auto Workers, retired
Peter Fisher, University of Iowa
John Fitzgerald, Bowdoin College
Sean Flaherty, Franklin and Marshall College
Kenneth Flamm, University of Texas – Austin
Maria S. Floro, American University
Nancy Folbre, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Christina M. Fong, Carnegie Mellon University
Catherine Forman, Quinnipiac University
Harold A. Forman, United Food and Commercial Workers
Mathew Forstater, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Liana Fox, Economic Policy Institute
Donald G. Freeman, Sam Houston State University
Gerald Friedman, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Sheldon Friedman, AFL – CIO
Alan Frishman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Scott T. Fullwiler, Wartburg College
Kevin Furey, Chemeketa Community College
Jason Furman, New York University
David Gabel, Queens College
James K. Galbraith, University of Texas – Austin
Monica Galizzi, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
David E. Gallo, California State University – Chico
Byron Gangnes, University of Hawaii – Manoa
Irwin Garfinkel, Columbia University
Rob Garnett, Texas Christian University
Garance Genicot, Georgetown University
Christopher Georges, Hamilton College
Malcolm Getz, Vanderbilt University
Teresa Ghilarducci, University of Notre Dame
Karen J. Gibson, Portland State University
Richard J. Gilbert, University of California – Berkeley
Helen Lachs Ginsburg, Brooklyn College - City University of New York
Herbert Gintis, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Neil Gladstein, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Amy Glasmeier, Penn State University
Norman J. Glickman, Rutgers University
Robert Glover, University of Texas – Austin
Arthur S. Goldberger, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Lonnie Golden, Penn State University - Abington College
Dan Goldhaber, University of Washington
Marshall I. Goldman, Wellesley College
Steven M. Goldman, University of California – Berkeley
William W. Goldsmith, Cornell University
Donald Goldstein, Allegheny College
Nance Goldstein, University of Southern Maine
Nick Gomersall, Luther College
Eban S. Goodstein, Lewis and Clark College
Neva Goodwin, Tufts University
Roger Gordon, University of California - San Diego
Peter Gottschalk, Boston College
Elise Gould, Economic Policy Institute
Harvey Gram, Queens College, City University of New York
Jim Grant, Lewis & Clark College
Ulla Grapard, Colgate University
Daphne Greenwood, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs
Karl Gregory, Oakland University
Christopher Gunn, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Steven C. Hackett, Humboldt State University
Joseph E. Harrington, Johns Hopkins University
Douglas N. Harris, Florida State University
Jonathan M. Harris, Tufts University
Martin Hart-Landsberg, Lewis & Clark College
Robert Haveman, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Sue Headlee, American University
Carol E. Heim, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
James Heintz, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Paul A. Heise, Lebanon Valley College
Susan Helper, Case Western Reserve University
John F. Henry, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Barry Herman, The New School
Edward S. Herman, University of Pennsylvania
Guillermo E. Herrera, Bowdoin College
Joni Hersch, Vanderbilt University Law School
Thomas Hertel, Purdue University
Steven Herzenberg, Keystone Research Center
Donald D. Hester, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Gillian Hewitson, Franklin and Marshall College
Bert G. Hickman, Stanford University
Marianne T. Hill, Center for Policy Research and Planning
Martha S. Hill, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Michael G. Hillard, University of Southern Maine
Rod Hissong, University of Texas - Arlington
P. Sai-Wing Ho, University of Denver
Emily P. Hoffman, Western Michigan University
Harry J. Holzer, Georgetown University and Urban Institute
Marjorie Honig, Hunter College, City University of New York
Barbara E. Hopkins, Wright State University
Mark R. Hopkins, Gettysburg College
Ann Horowitz, University of Florida
Ismael Hossein-Zadeh, Drake University
Charles W. Howe, University of Colorado – Boulder
Candace Howes, Connecticut College
Frank M. Howland, Wabash College
David C. Huffman, Bridgewater College
Saul H. Hymans, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Frederick S. Inaba, Washington State University
Alan G. Isaac, American University
Doreen Isenberg, University of Redlands
Jonathan Isham, Middlebury College
Sanford M. Jacoby, University of California - Los Angeles
Robert G. James, California State University – Chico
Kenneth P. Jameson, University of Utah
Russell A. Janis, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Elizabeth J. Jensen, Hamilton College
Pascale Joassart, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Jerome Joffe, St. John’s University
Laurie Johnson, University of Denver
William Johnson, Arizona State University
Lawrence D. Jones, University of British Columbia
Alexander J. Julius, New York University
Bernard Jump, Syracuse University
Fadhel Kaboub, Drew University
Shulamit Kahn, Boston University
Linda Kamas, Santa Clara University
Sheila B. Kamerman, Columbia University
John Kane, State University of New York – Oswego
Billie Kanter, California State University – Chico
J.K. Kapler, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Roger T. Kaufman, Smith College
David E. Kaun, University of California - Santa Cruz
Thomas A. Kemp, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
Peter B. Kenen, Princeton University
Farida C. Khan, University of Wisconsin – Parkside
Kwan S. Kim, University of Notre Dame
Marlene Kim, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Christopher T. King, University of Texas – Austin
Mary C. King, Portland State University
Lori G. Kletzer, University of California - Santa Cruz
Janet T. Knoedler, Bucknell University
Tim Koechlin, Vassar College
Andrew I. Kohen, James Madison University
Denise Eby Konan, University of Hawaii – Manoa
Ebru Kongar, Dickinson College
James Konow, Loyola Marymount University
Krishna Kool, University of Rio Grande
Douglas Koritz, Buffalo State College
Daniel J. Kovenock, Purdue University
Kate Krause, University of New Mexico
Vadaken N. Krishnan, Bowling Green State University
Douglas Kruse, Rutgers University
David Laibman, Brooklyn College - City University of New York
Robert M. La-Jeunesse, University of Newcastle
Kevin Lang, Boston University
Catherine Langlois, Georgetown University
Mehrene Larudee, DePaul University
Gary A. Latanich, Arkansas State University
Robert Z. Lawrence, Harvard University - Kennedy School of Government
Daniel Lawson, Drew University
William Lazonick, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Joelle J. Leclaire, Buffalo State College
Frederic S. Lee, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Marvin Lee, San Jose State University
Sang-Hyop Lee, University of Hawaii – Manoa
Woojin Lee, University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Thomas D. Legg, University of Minnesota
J. Paul Leigh, University of California – Davis
Charles Levenstein, University of Massachusetts - Lowell
Margaret C. Levenstein, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Henry M. Levin, Columbia University
Herbert S. Levine, University of Pennsylvania
Mark Levinson, Economic Policy Institute
Oren M. Levin-Waldman, Metropolitan College of New York
Mark K. Levitan, Community Service Society of New York
Stephen Levy, Center for Continuing Study of California Economy
Arthur Lewbel, Boston College
Lynne Y. Lewis, Bates College
David L. Lindauer, Wellesley College
Victor D. Lippit, University of California – Riverside
Pamela J. Loprest, Urban Institute
Richard Lotspeich, Indiana State University
Michael C. Lovell, Wesleyan University
Milton Lower, Retired Senior Economist, US House of Representatives
Stephanie Luce, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Robert Lucore, United American Nurses
Jens Otto Ludwig, Georgetown University
Dan Luria, Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center
Devon Lynch, University of Denver
Lisa M. Lynch, Tufts University
Robert G. Lynch, Washington College
Catherine Lynde, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Arthur MacEwan, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Hasan MacNeil, California State University – Chico
Allan MacNeill, Webster University
Craig R. MacPhee, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Diane J. Macunovich, University of Redlands
Janice F. Madden, University of Pennsylvania
Mark H. Maier, Glendale Community College
Thomas N. Maloney, University of Utah
Jay R. Mandle, Colgate University
Andrea Maneschi, Vanderbilt University
Garth Mangum, University of Utah
Catherine L. Mann, Brandeis University
Don Mar, San Francisco State University
Dave E. Marcotte, University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Robert A. Margo, Boston University
Ann R. Markusen, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Ray Marshall, University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs
Stephen Martin, Purdue University
Patrick L. Mason, Florida State University
Thomas Masterson, Westfield State College
Julie A. Matthaei, Wellesley College
Peter Hans Matthews, Middlebury College
Anne Mayhew, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
Alan K. McAdams, Cornell University
Timothy D. McBride, St. Louis University School of Public Health
Elaine McCrate, University of Vermont
Kate McGovern, Springfield College
Richard D. McGrath, Armstrong Atlantic State University
Richard McIntyre, University of Rhode Island
Hannah McKinney, Kalamazoo College
Judith Record McKinney, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Andrew McLennan, University of Sydney
Charles W. McMillion, MBG Information Services
Ellen Meara, Harvard Medical School
Martin Melkonian, Hofstra University
Jo Beth Mertens, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Peter B. Meyer, University of Louisville and Northern Kentucky University
Thomas R. Michl, Colgate University
Edward Miguel, University of California – Berkeley
William Milberg, The New School
John A. Miller, Wheaton College
S.M. Miller, Cambridge Institute and Boston University
Jerry Miner, Syracuse University
Daniel J.B. Mitchel, University of California - Los Angeles
Edward B. Montgomery, University of Maryland
Sarah Montgomery, Mount Holyoke College
Robert E. Moore, Georgia State University
Barbara A. Morgan, Johns Hopkins University
John R. Morris, University of Colorado – Denver
Monique Morrissey, Economic Policy Institute
Lawrence B. Morse, North Carolina A&T State University
Saeed Mortazavi, Humboldt State University
Fred Moseley, Mount Holyoke College
Philip I. Moss, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Tracy Mott, University of Denver
Steven D. Mullins, Drury University
Alicia H. Munnell, Boston College
Richard J. Murnane, Harvard University
Matthew D. Murphy, Gainesville State College
Michael Murray, Bates College
Peggy B. Musgrave, University of California - Santa Cruz
Richard A. Musgrave, Harvard University
Ellen Mutari, Richard Stockton College
Sirisha Naidu, Wright State University
Michele Naples, The College of New Jersey
Tara Natarajan, St. Michael’s College
Julie A. Nelson, Tufts University
Reynold F. Nesiba, Augustana College
Donald A. Nichols, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Eric Nilsson, California State University - San Bernardino
Laurie Nisonoff, Hampshire College
Emily Northrop, Southwestern University
Bruce Norton, San Antonio College
Stephen A. O’Connell, Swarthmore College
Mehmet Odekon, Skidmore College
Paulette Olson, Wright State University
Paul Ong, University of California - Los Angeles
Van Doorn Ooms, Committee for Economic Development
Jonathan M. Orszag, Competition Policy Associates, Inc.
Paul Osterman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Shaianne T. Osterreich, Ithaca College
Rudolph A. Oswald, George Meany Labor Studies Center
Spencer J. Pack, Connecticut College
Arnold Packer, Johns Hopkins University
Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, The Levy Economic Institute of Bard College
James A. Parrott, Fiscal Policy Institute
Manuel Pastor, University of California - Santa Cruz
Eva A. Paus, Mount Holyoke College
Jim Peach, New Mexico State University
M. Stephen Pendleton, Buffalo State College
Michael Perelman, California State University – Chico
Kenneth Peres, Communications Workers of America
George L. Perry, The Brookings Institution
Joseph Persky, University of Illinois – Chicago
Karen A. Pfeifer, Smith College
Bruce Pietrykowski, University of Michigan – Dearborn
Michael J. Piore, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Karen R. Polenske, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Marshall Pomer, Macroeconomic Policy Institute
Tod Porter, Youngstown State University
Shirley L. Porterfield, University of Missouri - St. Louis
Michael J. Potepan, San Francisco State University
Marilyn Power, Sarah Lawrence College
Thomas Power, University of Montana
Robert E. Prasch, Middlebury College
Mark A. Price, Keystone Research Center
Jean L. Pyle, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Paddy Quick, St. Francis College
John M. Quigley, University of California – Berkeley
Willard W. Radell, Jr., Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Fredric Raines, Washington University in St. Louis
Steven Raphael, University of California – Berkeley
Salim Rashid, University of Illinois – Urbana – Champaign
Wendy L. Rayack, Wesleyan University
Randall Reback, Barnard College, Columbia University
Robert Rebelein, Vassar College
James B. Rebitzer, Case Western Reserve University
Daniel I. Rees, University of Colorado – Denver
Michael Reich, University of California –Berkeley
Robert B. Reich, University of California – Berkeley
Cordelia Reimers, Hunter College and The Graduate Center - City University of New York
Donald Renner, Minnesota State University – Mankato
Trudi Renwick, Fiscal Policy Institute
Andrew Reschovsky, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Lee A. Reynis, University of New Mexico
Daniel Richards, Tufts University
Bruce Roberts, University of Southern Maine
Barbara J. Robles, Arizona State University
John Roche, St. John Fisher College
Charles P. Rock, Rollins College
William M. Rodgers III, Rutgers University
Dani Rodrik, Harvard University
John E. Roemer, Yale University
William O. Rohlf, Drury University
Gerard Roland, University of California – Berkeley
Frank Roosevelt, Sarah Lawrence College
Jaime Ros, University of Notre Dame
Nancy E. Rose, California State University - San Bernardino
Howard F. Rosen, Trade Adjustment Assistance Coalition
Joshua L. Rosenbloom, University of Kansas
William W. Ross, Fu Associates, Ltd.
Roy J. Rotheim, Skidmore College
Jesse Rothstein, Princeton University
Geoffrey Rothwell, Stanford University
Joydeep Roy, Economic Policy Institute
David Runsten, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Lynda Rush, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona
Gregory M. Saltzman, Albion College and the University of Michigan
Sydney Saltzman, Cornell University
Dominick Salvatore, Fordham University
Blair Sandler, San Francisco, California
Daniel E. Saros, Valparaiso University
Michael Sattinger, University at Albany
Dawn Saunders, Castleton State College
Larry Sawers, American University
Max Sawicky, Economic Policy Institute
Peter V. Schaeffer, West Virginia University
William C. Schaniel, University of West Georgia
A. Allan Schmid, Michigan State University
Stephen J. Schmidt, Union College
John Schmitt, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Juliet B. Schor, Boston College
C. Heike Schotten, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Eric A. Schutz, Rollins College
Elliot Sclar, Columbia University
Allen J. Scott, University of California - Los Angeles
Bruce R. Scott, Harvard Business School
Robert Scott, Economic Policy Institute
Stephanie Seguino, University of Vermont
Laurence Seidman, University of Delaware
Janet Seiz, Grinnell College
Willi Semmler, The New School
Mina Zeynep Senses, Johns Hopkins University
Jean Shackelford, Bucknell University
Harry G. Shaffer, University of Kansas
Sumitra Shah, St. John’s University
Robert J. Shapiro, Sonecon LLC
Mohammed Sharif, University of Rhode Island
Lois B. Shaw, Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Heidi Shierholz, University of Toronto
Deep Shikha, College of St. Catherine
Richard L. Shirey, Siena College
Steven Shulman, Colorado State University
Laurence Shute, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona
Stephen J. Silvia, American University
Michael E. Simmons, North Carolina A&T State University
Margaret C. Simms, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Chris Skelley, Rollins College
Max J. Skidmore, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Peter Skott, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Courtenay M. Slater, Arlington, Virginia
Timothy M. Smeeding, Syracuse University
Janet Spitz, College of Saint Rose
William Spriggs, Howard University
James L. Starkey, University of Rhode Island
Martha A. Starr, American University
Howard Stein, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Mary Huff Stevenson, University of Massachusetts – Boston
James B. Stewart, Pennsylvania State University
Jeffrey Stewart, Northern Kentucky University
Robert J. Stonebraker, Winthrop University
Michael Storper, University of California - Los Angeles
Diana Strassmann, Rice University
Cornelia J. Strawser, Consultant
Frederick R. Strobel, New College of Florida
James I. Sturgeon, University of Missouri - Kansas City
David M. Sturges, Colgate University
William A. Sundstrom, Santa Clara University
Jonathan Sunshine, Reston, Virginia
Paul Swaim, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Craig Swan, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Paul A. Swanson, William Paterson University
William K. Tabb, Queens College
Peter Temin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Judith Tendler, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David Terkla, University of Massachusetts – Boston
Kenneth Thomas, University of Missouri - St. Louis
Frank Thompson, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ross D. Thomson, University of Vermont
Emanuel D. Thorne, Brooklyn College - City University of New York
Jill Tiefenthaler, Colgate University
Thomas H. Tietenberg, Colby College
Chris Tilly, University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Renee Toback, Empire State College
Mayo C. Toruño, California State University - San Bernardino
W. Scott Trees, Siena College
A. Dale Tussing, Syracuse University
James Tybout, Penn State University
Christopher Udry, Yale University
Daniel A. Underwood, Peninsula College
Lynn Unruh, University of Central Florida
Leanne Ussher, Queens College, City University of New York
David Vail, Bowdoin College
Vivian Grace Valdmanis, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
William Van Lear, Belmont Abbey College
Lane Vanderslice, Hunger Notes
Lise Vesterlund, University of Pittsburgh
Michael G. Vogt, Eastern Michigan University
Paula B. Voos, Rutgers University
Mark Votruba, Case Western Reserve University
Susan Vroman, Georgetown University
Howard M. Wachtel, American University
Jeffrey Waddoups, University of Nevada - Las Vegas
Norman Waitzman, University of Utah
Lawrence A. Waldman, University of New Mexico
John F. Walker, Portland State University
William Waller, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Jennifer Warlick, University of Notre Dame
Matthew Warning, University of Puget Sound
Bernard Wasow, The Century Foundation
Robert W. Wassmer, California State University – Sacramento
Sidney Weintraub, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Charles L. Weise, Gettysburg College
Thomas E. Weisskopf, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Christian E. Weller, Center for American Progress
Fred M. Westfield, Vanderbilt University
Charles J. Whalen, Perspectives on Work
Cathleen L. Whiting, Williamette University
Howard Wial, The Brookings Institution
Linda Wilcox Young, Southern Oregon University
Arthur R. Williams, Rochester – Minnesota
Robert G. Williams, Guilford College
John Willoughby, American University
Valerie Rawlston Wilson, National Urban League
Jon D. Wisman, American University
Barbara L. Wolfe, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Edward Wolff, New York University
Martin Wolfson, University of Notre Dame
Brenda Wyss, Wheaton College
Yavuz Yasar, University of Denver
Anne Yeagle, University of Utah
Erinc Yelden, University of Massachusetts – Amherst
Ben E. Young, University of Missouri - Kansas City
Edward G. Young, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
June Zaccone, National Jobs for All Coalition and Hofstra University
Ajit Zacharias, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
David A. Zalewski, Providence College
Henry W. Zaretsky, Henry W. Zaretsky & Associates, Inc.
Jim Zelenski, Regis University
Andrew Zimbalist, Smith College
John Zysman, University of California – Berkeley

[Econoline]

I assume you were answering Dave's question, Scooter, and I think you got it right. (And we both knew what he would say before he wrote it, didn't we? Some people are just sooooo predictable...)

As for the answer to my question (which was a political question, rather than an economics question): well, I'm still hoping that Lord Jim will weigh in, since I do respect his political acumen....but the answer seems to be that Republicans hate the very IDEA of the minimum wage so much, for ideological reasons, that they're still hoping against hope that they'll someday, someday, be able to get rid of the minimum wage entirely.

Ain't gonna happen, folks, not in this multiverse...and they would apparently rather keep backing a repeated political loser than admit it and make it go away as a political albatross for their party. Oh, well. Have fun.

I hate to admit it, but maybe rubato had the best answer? Maybe I'm not barking up the "rational" tree?

...

Given these 2 facts....can any GOP supporter here give me a rational reason for their party *NOT* supporting a proposal to index the minimum wage to the cost of living--thus eliminating a perennial political issue on which the Republicans *ALWAYS* lose?

You're not barking up the "rational" tree. But it is true that if their goals were actually those they espouse they would agree with the deal as a way of limiting the minimum wage to a perpetually low, albeit constant, level rather than risking a larger increase.

The Forbes article that Long Run linked to mentioned the term "zombie economics"...so would this be "zombie politics"?