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Noah Smith

A Higher Minimum Wage Won't Lead to Armageddon

The data to support that idea is sketchy or nonexistent.
It won't be as bad as that.

It won't be as bad as that.

Source: Fine Art Images/heritage images/getty images
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Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer is one of the nation’s most important advocates for the minimum wage. He helped spearhead Seattle’s successful fight for $15 an hour, and is now helping the campaign to extend that number to the entire nation. Hanauer’s support goes beyond money, however -- he is very outspoken on Twitter and on the internet, penning many long and forceful articles in support of a higher minimum wage and lambasting the status quo in economics.

In a recent post in Democracy Journal, Hanauer wrote that I was predicting “economic Armageddon” from minimum wage increases: