The Battle Over the Minimum Wage

A major institutional milestone of the Mass Production Revolution was nationwide wage and hour laws in the United States, which introduced concepts like the forty-hour week, the eight-hour day, overtime pay, and the minimum wage. Today, organized labor is proactively campaigning for a $15.00 per hour minimum wage. Does this make sense in the emerging “gig economy” enabled by the Digital Revolution? What are the implications of minimum wage laws for employment and economic growth? How is the current confrontation likely to play itself out? We’ll provide the answers.