Do you live under a rock? Which places have the highest minimum wage? And which places have the highest crime, and lowest job opportunities? Oh they're the same places... But since you have a hard time using Google, let me help you. Strongest data points If you want to raise the minimum wage, understand the tradeoffs: • $15 federal minimum wage: CBO estimated it would raise wages for 17 million workers, but also cause 1.4 million workers to lose employment. • Prices: Research on minimum-wage increases consistently finds businesses pass part of higher labor costs on to consumers—especially in restaurants. • Hours: Businesses don't have to fire workers to reduce labor costs. They can cut hours, shifts, overtime, and hiring instead. • Teen workers: Young and inexperienced workers tend to experience the largest employment effects because their productivity is often closest to the minimum wage. • Automation: Higher labor costs increase the incentive to replace low-skilled labor with self-checkout, kiosks, ordering apps, and other automation. A minimum wage doesn't make labor more productive. It makes employing that labor more expensive. The real question isn't whether workers should earn more. It's who pays for it—and who gets priced out of the labor market. Source: Congressional Budget Office, The Effects on Employment and Family Income of Increasing the Federal Minimum Wage (2019).