Most Arguments For Instituting Or Raising A

Making Labor Less Expensive Helps Firms Hire People.

Raising The Minimum Wage, As President Obama Proposed In His State Of The Union Address, Tends To Be More Popular With The General Public Than With Economists.

Many Of My Students Assume That Government Protection Is The Only Thing Ensuring Decent Wages For Most American Workers. But Basic Economics Shows That Competition Between Employers For Workers Can Be Very Effective At Preventing Businesses From Misbehaving.

Honest Talk About The Deficit Is Risky. Voters Are More Enthusiastic About The Abstract Notion Of Deficit Reduction Than About The Painful Details Of Accomplishing It.

Climate Change And Dependence On Foreign Oil Are Problems That Won't Go Away On Their Own. Tabling Plans To Deal With Them Doesn't Make It Easier For Companies To Plan And Invest; It Makes It Harder.