Right Minimum Wage: $0.00 Per Hour

The problem is that demand for almost everything is elastic: When the price of something goes up, demand for it goes down. Obviously were the minimum wage to jump to, say, $15 an hour, that would cause significant unemployment among persons just reaching for the bottom rung of the ladder of upward mobility.

The minimum wage should be $0.00 per hour. Labor is a commodity; governments make messes when they decree commodities' prices. Washington, which has its hands full delivering the mail and defending the shores, should let the market do well what Washington does poorly.

From the latest commentary by columist George Will, who understands that demand curves slope downward. If only he could teach this to politicians in Washington.