No good can come from a state raising its minimum wage. If it simply matches the federal wage, it's superfluous. If it goes above that, it simply compounds the damage done by this form of government meddling in the market.

Lawmakers in Maine have discussed not only raising that state's minimum wage. They've also talked about indexing it to inflation. J. Scott Moody, of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, says that's a bad idea. "In short," he writes, "if the Legislature believes that Maine needs a higher, uncompetitive minimum wage, this should be a transparent decision (PDF) with public hearings and a vote of legislators. Laws with a long-lasting negative impact on future employment and Maine's business climate must never be set on a blind automatic pilot."