This really isn't my bag, but this article on the effects of raising the minimum wage caught my eye. In places where the minimum wage is raised:
* Suicide rates drop (and increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for the poor does too)
* Criminality drops
* Consumer spending rises
* Workers are more productive
* Wage increases happen for higher paid employees as well
* Poverty rates drop
* Job-hopping drops
* Old folks work longer
