India's tea producers are at a price disadvantage internationally partly because they are bound by law to pay certain minimum wages, while those in countries like Vietnam and Argentina, which compete with India's lower-grade teas, are not.
State law requires that certain minimum wages be paid on publicly funded construction projects; the wages vary county by county.
Long championed by unions, prevailing wage laws require companies bidding on public projects to pay certain minimum wages to the workers they'll employ.
This was the thick of the Great Depression -- unemployment was a staggering, unimaginable 19percentt at the time, and the critics were certain a minimum wage would make it worse.
However, there are decent economic theories which show that, under certain circumstances, minimum wages can be beneficial, as it makes workers more productive.
To believe the reaction from some corners of the business world, you'd think economic ruin was certain if the minimum wage was increased to £8 an hour by 2020, as Labour leader Ed Miliband proposes.
The complaints allege that McDonald's and certain franchisees violated minimum wage and overtime regulations, forced employees to work off the clock and took illegal deductions for costs related to uniforms.
Not having research about what would happen at $15 does not mean that it would cost jobs - it just means that, if we go to that level, we can't be certain that the minimum wage's opponents will continue to be so wrong about its effects on the job market.
Certain pledges like keeping minimum wage workers out of tax, doubling free childcare, and extending "right to buy" home ownership have the potential to appeal beyond the kind of people who gave up their day to pay their respects at Margaret Thatcher's funeral.
