Congress should increase the legal minimum wage. An increase in the legal minimum wage would cause employment to increase. An increase in the legal minimum wage would cause employment to decrease. An increase in the legal minimum wage would lead to greater inequality in the distribution of income. The fallacy of composition is the erroneous view that an economic activity can sometimes exceed the sum of its components.
Economists use the term ceteris paribus to indicate that supply and demand are in balance.
The opportunity cost of choosing an alternative is the cost of the highest valued alternative forsaken as the result of the choice. Middlemen add to the expenses of buyers without providing a benefit to sellers. Our economy would work just as well without middlemen since they do not expand the availability of physical goods. Middlemen reduce the number of transactions since they increase the buyer's price and reduce the seller's net receipts. Middlemen create value by arranging trades and providing information to buyers and sellers.