The latter is a dead issue. Recently, however, President Clinton revived the issue of a minimum-wage hike, proposing to raise it by 90 cents over two years. Opponents argue that a higher minimum distorts the free market, crippling firms that compete against manufacturers overseas, and forces companies to lay off some workers in order to pay others more. But the research goes both ways. A 1992 study found almost no effect on employment following a minimum-wage hike.
Common sense suggests higher wages help the economy.
A higher minimum wage makes work more attractive to people on welfare who otherwise would not find it worthwhile. That may sound reasonable, but the government already intervenes in the free market with all sorts of tax credits and deductions, loans, grants, and subsidies to companies large and small. Each of these interventions is intended to address some problem that the free market has not been able to resolve on its own, such as encouraging investment in inner cities or unstable foreign countries. But that, of course, is not the only reason the minimum has to be raised. As Christians, frankly, we are subject to a law higher than that of the free market.