In One Cartoon Strip, Everything You Need to Know About the Minimum Wage

Every so often, I see visuals that do a great job of illustrating various economic principles. This Wizard-of-Id parody contains a lot of insight about labor economics. As does this Chuck Asay cartoon and this Robert Gorrell cartoon.

If you want to understand Keynesian economics, this Scott Stantis cartoon is a gem, as is the house-on-fire image in this post. Regarding tax policy, the philoso-raptor explains supply-side economics and Paul Bunyan helps to illustrate why double taxation is so destructive.

You can also get clear messages about why a welfare state is economically destructive in this classic from Chuck Asay, as well as these home-made cartoons on riding the wagon vs. pulling the wagon.

Regarding the minimum wage, I think Henry Payne effectively shows – in this cartoon and this cartoon – how mandating above-market wages is very bad news for those with limited skills. But this cartoon strip from Red Panels deserves special praise because it shows both what some people think and what actually happens.

Amen. I’ve always been mystified why some people don’t understand that jobs are only created when an employee is expected to generate net revenue.

In other words, there are no “magic boats.” Especially in the long run, companies will shed workers that hurt the bottom line.

P.S. Here are some of my favorites images that don’t involve economic principles.

• The real fight is looters vs. producers, not rich vs poor.
• The U.S. population pyramid becoming a cylinder.
• Pizza slices and the inequality paradox.