The right minimum wage, zero dollars and zero cents.

That was the headline of an editorial in one of America's most prestigious newspapers.

Can you guess which one?

The Wall Street Journal, perhaps.

Right City, wrong paper.

This editorial appeared in the New York Times in 1987.

There's a virtual consensus among economists, the Times wrote, that the minimum wage is an

idea whose time has passed.

So economists in the liberal paper were on the same page pun intended.

Why?

Because they understood that a minimum wage does not guarantee jobs.

It guarantees only that those who get jobs will be paid at least that minimum.

And that leads to two bad outcomes, unemployment and higher prices.

I can best explain this by asking a simple question.

What is a wage?

A wage is the price of labor.

Now, what happens if the price of labor rises not because workers have become more productive,

not because a business must pay higher wages to hold on to valuable employees,

but only because the government requires it.

When the minimum wage rises, employers will adjust.

They will use less labor.

They'll fire current employees or cut back on their hours.

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