Effects of raising minimum wages in USA

On CNN.com, I read the following snip: " Republican critics said the
minimum wage was a job killer, not the boon to low-wage workers
portrayed by Democrats.

"This is a classic debate between two different philosophies. One
philosophy believes in the marketplace, competition and
entrepreneurship, and the second is a philosophy that says government
knows best," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia. He said France and
Germany have high minimum wages but also high unemployment."
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I have to admit, that this Sen. Isakson seems to have a point. The
unemployment rate (UR) in Europe is much more than 6%, and their
minimum wage is higher, although I'm not sure where it stands.

I thought that when economists calculate the unemployment rate, that
they don't take into account certain segments the population.
Moreover, there are certain situations which the UR gauge is not
accurate/informative on. For example, it doesn't state if people are
under-employed.

Here is my question: In your opinion, do you think that raising the
minimum wage would be a benefit/burden to the US economy and US
well-being?

.

Relevant Pages

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