Debunking the Myth That Minimum Wage Laws Are 'Progressive'

Minimum wage laws impose compulsory unemployment on the poor, the unskilled, racial minorities, the young, and many others.

Source: Debunking the Myth That Minimum Wage Laws Are 'Progressive' - Foundation for Economic Education

Are there people who genuinely argue that a minimum wage is progressive? The problem with a minimum wage is that it does not exist in a vacuum. To a business, a worker has an economic value based on their economic production. If you artificially raise that value via a minimum wage then you start dealing with (presumably) unintended consequences. These include businesses hiring fewer people and/or raising prices. Both of those disproportionately affect the poorest segment of society.

At the end of the day, the freest markets provide the highest effective wages. A minimum wage might provide a higher numerical value but of what value is that if there are fewer jobs and prices go up as well? Proponents of ever higher minimum wages essentially are always fighting against inflation. But a higher minimum wage contributes to that problem. It would be better to focus on obtaining a higher effective minimum wage vs. trying to brute force things by making the absolute minimum wage higher. However, the only way to do this is by supporting free markets and opposing policies that cause inflation. Something that is clearly not being done very effectively given the inflation rates we are seeing today.