Perhaps we could cut to the chase and you could tell me what am I supposed to learn from the experience? If it is the fact that the international competition causes wage race to the bottom, then I am already aware of that.
And that's exactly the reason why minimum wage should be a law. Here's food for thought, too: How does Germany does it? Despite having high wages for decades, compared to the rest of the world, even in manufacturing, and recently adopting minimum wage, most Germans are employed, and there are many German companies out there. That I would like to have explained by someone with business experience.
Germany uses the weaker Eurozone countries to artificially deflate the cost of purchasing their exports. If the Euro was only based on the strength of the German economy their exports would be a lot more expensive. Whether or not this would reduce sales significantly or not is debatable but chances are it definitely wouldn't help.
At some point, the minimum wage will price unskilled labor completely out of the market. Companies now have 5 years to start automating these positions.
The Internet made this possible. So many people love using adblock and sharing files for free.. and the same tactics are being used to outsource labor... and now government intervention is a good thing.
If that were the case all MBA's and all Economists would be the wealthiest people in the world. That this is not the case should make everyone reflect a bit.
I take most everything I read from economists as total and utter bullshit. Including what they have to say in favor of high min wage. As a group their performance sucks. All they are good for is writing books nobody wants to read.