Ginia Bellafante has a column in the New York Times welcoming the arrival of the $15 an hour minimum wage. But, she argues, it should be $33 an hour, because New York City is so expensive.
I wonder if she has given any thought to what a $33 an hour minimum wage would do to the cost of living in New York?
I think that people sometimes forget that it is not only sellers who compete in the marketplace. Buyers compete, too. There is great competition for scarce goods, e.g., desirable housing in New York City, or a cab ride when it’s raining. The minimum wage is not a cure for scarcity.
If you’d like to make New York City more affordable, try building a couple hundred thousand new housing units.