You can't have capitalism both ways. Either the market will result in lower prices / greater efficiency (which negates your argument) or it won't (which means w

You can't have capitalism both ways. Either the market will result in lower prices / greater efficiency (which negates your argument) or it won't (which means we need more regulation to correct market distortions). The reality is a lot of companies, banks, and politicians have finally recognized that the US consumer class is tapped out and a significant portion of the world relies on that as a central economic engine. Even China isn't ready to fully switch away from being export-driven. To have consumers you need people with money in their pockets to spend. That means management and capital need to move back toward the historical division of profits with labor. We'll all end up better off in the long run. California raising the minimum wage will barely impact unemployment. A few prices will rise a bit but the net effect should be positive. Some of the money will be due to multiplier effects but some will come from obsessively high corporate profits which is fine (companies are so overflowing with cash many are doing record stock buybacks for lack of a better ROI).