The idea that the federal minimum wage should exist in some form may sound beyond debate to most Americans, the vast majority of whom have not lived in a time when it wasn't a political reality. The debate is arguably settled, but maybe not in the way most think.
"There's a virtual consensus among economists that the minimum wage is an idea whose time has passed," wrote a prominent newspaper's editorial board a few years back. "Raising the minimum wage by a substantial amount would price working poor people out of the job market….If a higher minimum means fewer jobs, why does it remain on the agenda of some liberals?"
