Rent is absolutely not nationally priced. It can vary 10x. Because we don't want to set a baseline unemployment statistic which counts people as unemployed whe

Rent is absolutely not nationally priced. It can vary 10x. Because we don't want to set a baseline unemployment statistic which counts people as unemployed when they are earning enough to live in a decent apartment, while the same wage would leave them homeless in a city. By setting higher minimum wages, we effectively raise the cost of living everywhere, as the price for the slow changing supply of housing rises. As the cost of living rises, the comparative advantage of goods produced in the USA is further reduced in comparison to countries with lower costs of living. This results in less manufacturing occurring in the country, and eventually more real unemployment. What we should be doing is allow for the creation of more low cost of living areas, where what is globally a decent salary is sufficient.