**"Raising the minimum wage probably does cause less work time and inflation in the short term. But as long as the employer is running a profit and the demand for labor is reasonably elastic, the increased wages transmitted to workers will outweigh that loss for other workers, for a net gain overall on the labor side."**
In the short term of course and as inflation happens in the long term, another minimum wage will be demanded which will have the same effects. However even in the long term, the minimum wage's effects will still be in place, without it more jobs and lower prices could have been taken up.
**"as long as the employer is running a profit and the demand for labor is reasonably elastic,"**
You're assuming that they will, for the most part the minimum wage may have an extreme negative effect on their profits. Demand for labour being elastic makes the minimum wages effects on jobs worse.
The increased wages transmitted to workers, you're assuming because of job cuts the workers who have wages now will get a rise out of the new minimum wage, which is probably not the case. However there is an extreme loss of jobs that I doubt will outweigh people actually losing jobs. I rather have people employed with lower wages than people unemployed with the employed having higher wages.
@Leo (BillNyeLand) **"This has the added benefit of, through those laws of economics you cited, enticing more lazy freeloaders back to work, since they can get more money."**
Not really because there is a shortage of demand and an excess supply, so you hurt those very freeloaders.
**"Lastly, with the increased spending power possessed by consumers, demand increases, allowing businesses to gain back some of their losses from the higher minimum wage"**
