Are we near the tipping point on minimum wage?

In January, Washington’s minimum wage will crack the $9 mark and we will once again be No. 1 — the state with the nation’s highest minimum wage.

Of course, some think that’s good news. Ensuring that people can support themselves and their families is a laudable goal. But there’s a problem: It’s called the law of unintended consequences.

Sometimes, an action causes the opposite of what it was intended to do. We are perilously close to that when it comes to the minimum wage.

Requiring that employers pay a higher wage does not magically provide them with the money to do so. With our state’s econo...