CEPR has a history of ignoring statistics that refute their viewpoint.

For instance, 19 states have higher than the federally mandated minimum wage. On the whole, these states have a lot higher unemployment rate than the national average. In fact, if you compare the lists, the top six spots are taken by states (and DC, which also has a higher minimum wage) that are in the higher than federally mandated minimum wage list.

If you look at the other end of the spectrum, 9 of the bottom 10, and 17 of the bottom 20 states, in unemployment do not have higher than federally mandated minimum wage.

Is there a correlation? Certainly seems to be when you lay it out like that.

How about the fact that automation is easier to manage than lower skilled workers? There is a reason that we are seeing automation in areas such as self checkout lines, fuel pumps, and repetitive assembly line workers.

While not exactly the same, heavily unionized (and demanding higher pay than the company thinks the labor is worth) areas are evidence that paying above what a person is worth is detrimental to unemployment. Michigan and the Rust Belt can attest to that.

As of last year, the US was facing a shortfall of over 3million (gah! I can't find the link - it might have been an internal memo) jobs in engineering/math/science/technology. How about we fix the education system and society issues that are guiding fewer people to these STEM jobs?