September 10, 2015 2:28PM 

# Why Is $15 the “Right” Minimum Wage? 

By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) 

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Earlier today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a $15 per hour minimum wage for his state; Vice-President Joe Biden joined the press conference.

Cato and other scholars have long argued against *any* minimum wage; see [here](https://www.cato.org/joining-the-minimum-wage-debate). I will not re-hash those arguments today.

Instead, let’s ask the proponents of a minimum wage why, if a $15 per hour minimum is good, why isn’t a $150 per hour minimum better?

The answer will presumably be, “Well, $150 per hour would kills job.”

Exactly!

So why is not the same true of $15 per hour, just to a milder degree? How can proponents seriously claim that minimum wages do not affect employment? Existing evidence does show small effects from most minimum wage hikes; but that is because those hikes have been modest. Were they ever large (as with Cuomo’s proposal), substantial disemployment and other distortions are inevitable.

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[Tax and Budget Policy](https://www.cato.org/tax-budget-policy) 

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