In short, what the living wage is really about is not living standards, or even economics, but morality. Its advocates are basically opposed to the idea that wages are a market price-determined by supply and demand, the same as the price of apples or coal. And it is for that reason, rather than the practical details, that the broader political movement of which the demand for a living wage is the leading edge is ultimately doomed to failure: For the amorality of the market economy is part of its essence, and cannot be legislated away.

Democracy or breakdown in Syria would change the whole Middle East overnight.

The habit of disguising ideology as expertise has created a deficit of legitimacy.

The real danger with debt is what happens if lots of people decide, or are forced, to pay it off at the same time.

The problem isn't that people don't understand how good things are. It's that they know, from personal experience, that things really aren't that good.

Social Security is a social insurance program - it is not designed to be the same thing as a 401(k).

In short, what the living wage is really about is not living standards, or even economics, but morality. Its advocates are basically opposed to the idea that wages are a market price-determined by supply and demand, the same as the price of apples or coal. And it is for that reason, rather than the practical details, that the broader political movement of which the demand for a living wage is the leading edge is ultimately doomed to failure: For the amorality of the market economy is part of its essence, and cannot be legislated away.