There are only two things a minimum wage law can do: Something, or nothing.

Suppose an economy is rich enough that even the most unskilled and entry-level employees tend to make at least five dollars an hour. If an employer doesn’t pay at least that, he’s likely to lose workers.

So the impact of a $5 minimum wage law is nothing in that case, or almost. But what if a minimum wage really increases the cost of labor? Then job-seekers on the margins may be stopped from gaining gainful employment altogether.

We’re reminded of these realities by a recent story about how commonwealths operating under U.S. governance are being treated by Congress.

Pre-total-disgrace, lobbyist Jack Abramoff lobbied to prevent federal minimum wage laws from being imposed on the Northern Mariana Islands. He now can’t use his nefarious Republican lobbying power to prevent those businesses from having their contract-making rights violated. But American Samoa has a Democratic delegate, who is also working to protect Samoan businesses from the minimum wage. On Samoa, the legal minimum is half that in the States.

House Democrats now say they’ll change their minimum wage bill so that it devastates–er, I mean, “applies to” Samoa. Ah, fairness.

What will happen? Companies will cut back, and some may even close on the island. Samoans will lose jobs.

It’s awful that bad guys like Abramoff and certain Democrats protecting parochial interests might oppose the minimum wage or say that 2 + 2 = 4.

But 2 + 2 is still 4.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.