David: Your blog reminded me of the debate held when I was a student at the University of Chicago Law School. Frank Knight and Thurman Arnold were discussing a proposed increase in the federal minimum wage (it was then $1.00 per hour) to $1.15. Knight asked comrade Arnold why he was being such a piker: If there would be no harmful consequences, and wealth can be bestowed by legislative fiat, why not go up to $10 an hour, or $10 a minute? As is so often the case when interventionist ignoramuses are confronted by questions that address real-world matters, Arnold could only snicker and make utter a cutesy non sequitur.

The Best of Butler Shaffer