People like Krugman are one of the reasons USA is in a hot mess and wealth has concentrated into a select few. Neoclassical economists have been selling themse

People like Krugman are one of the reasons USA is in a hot mess and wealth has concentrated into a select few. Neoclassical economists have been selling themselves as “scientists” (think physicists) for decades and their theories are cited as reasons for economic policies in the USA. One of these days I’ll write a post on it. But one of the areas they get wrong repeatedly is on the minimum wage. Neoclassical economists would argue that increasing minimum wage ultimately hurts the people it’s trying to help. For example, by increasing minimum wage you would see a decrease in businesses and/or number of jobs available. In neoclassical theory and “Econ 101”, they would chalk it up to supply and demand. However, this has been disproven in regions or states where the minimum wage has well exceeded the federal minimum wage. Take Seattle, WA for example where min wage is ~$20/hr. Local restaurant industry didn’t collapse. Region itself didn’t collapse. Sure jobs or businesses closed (Subway franchises, lol), but were eventually replaced by ones that could compete. Likely local businesses. And since all businesses pay the same wage to remain competitive, workers get more money in their pockets. This leads to increased spending by those same people. There’s a ton of other factors as well but it’s well beyond commenting here.