An important post on the Minimum Wage debate. Don Bourdreaux posts some blog comments from an anonymous commenter. Excerpts:
On possible unintended consequences:
(1) Low-skilled workers can be replaced by slightly more-skilled workers once the wage difference between them has dramatically compressed.
(2) New workers can enter (or old workers can increase their labor supply) in response to higher wages; if this happens, people who might need the job will be disemployed even if labor demand is constant.
(3) Labor can be replaced by automation.
(4) Customers can substitute between businesses that provide the same basic service but with dramatically different business models. (e.g. less shopping at Walmart, which is now more expensive, and more shopping at Costco; only problem is that Costco has half as many workers per dollar of sales, so labor demand decreases dramatically)
… and so on.
In general, the exasperating thing about left-wing economic commentary…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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