The first big observation is the caveat that minimum wage mandates are just one piece of the economic puzzle. The numbers in Greece, for instance, are miserable for many reasons. The minimum wage mandate is just another straw on the camel's back. Moreover, it's possible for a nation to have a decent-performing economy with a minimum wage (see Luxembourg) and a decrepit economy without one (see Italy). It's the overall burden of government that matters, which is why the rankings from Economic Freedom of the World are the first place to look when determining if a nation is market-oriented or statist.

That being said, Mark Perry's table (on right) certainly shows a correlation between joblessness and minimum wage mandates. Part of the reason for this link is that higher minimum wages are bad for employment, and part of the reason for the correlation is that governments foolish enough to impose minimum wages are probably foolish enough to impose other bad policies as well.

The second big observation is that I periodically encounter leftists who say a minimum wage is needed because employers have all the leverage and would pay workers starvation wages in the absence of a mandate. To which I always respond by asking them, "Then why don't employers use that leverage to reduce the wages of the 98 percent of workers who make more than the minimum wage?" That shuts down the conversation very quickly.

But now I'll also ask these folks, "And why aren't workers in Austria and Sweden paid starvation wages?" Their responses will be amusing.

For my minor comments, I'll start by noting that Switzerland is a uniquely sensible nation. Voters recently rejected a minimum wage mandate by an overwhelming 3-1 margin. I fear American voters would not be nearly as sensible if we had a national referendum.

US Residents have more debt. As of June 30, 2015 the amount of debt held by the public was approximately $13 trillion or 74% of the average GDP over the last 12 months. This includes credit cards ($712 billion); auto loans ($1.21 trillion); student loans ($1.2 trillion) and mortgages (over $10 trillion). Debt has grown because the cost of living has outpaced income growth over the past 12 years. The average US household owes more than $129,000 of debt and pays close to $7,000 annually in interest. This is unsustainable when interest rates continue to rise.

The US has the most complicated tax system in the world requiring more CPAs and tax preparers than any other country. As of 2013, it takes 73,954 sheets of paper to explain the complexity of the US Federal tax code. Over 1.2 million people (CPA's, lawyers and consultants) help prepare tax returns annually. The United States is one of two countries in the world that taxes its nonresident citizens on worldwide income, in the same manner and rates as residents; the only other country is Eritrea. The US also has the highest corporate tax rates in the world.

The US has the most laws of any country with more being passed annually at a much higher rate. No one knows exactly how many laws there are since they've been accumulating for over 200 years. For example, there were over 40,000 new laws passed in 2011 including local, state and federal.

The US spends more on the military than any other country. This averages 20-25% of the entire federal budget. Every hour US taxpayers are paying $8.3 million for debt of the total cost of wars since 2001. (Afghanistan 2001-2014: Iraq War 2003-2011; Afghanistan War 2015-present and the international campaign against ISIL (2014-present.) The USA outspends China, Russia, UK, France, Japan India, Saudi Arabia and Germany combined on defense. However, China actually has more troops than other countries (known as the Chinese Liberation Army.)

The US spends more on healthcare as a percentage of GDP. Obamacare alone will add $1.8 trillion to the national debt by 2024. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent more on health care per capita ($8,608), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP (17.2%), than any other country on earth. Rising healthcare costs, the aging population and uncertainties about the efficacy of Obamacare will add significantly to the fiscal woes of our country.

The US has the largest national debt and trade deficit. As of June 4, 2015, total U.S. debt stood at $18.830 trillion. Washington spent nearly $3.5 trillion in 2014 while collecting approximately $3 trillion in revenues, resulting in a deficit of slightly less than half a trillion. In other words, 14 cents of every dollar that Washington spent in 2014 was borrowed. Over the past 20 years, federal spending grew 63 percent faster than inflation.

The United States spends more than other developed nations on its students' education each year, with parents and private foundations picking up more of the costs than other developed countries. Despite the spending, U.S. students still trail their rivals on international tests. The total cost per student of public education in 1970 was $57,602. It is close to $175,000 today.

The US ranks 12th in the Index of Economic Freedom trailing far behind the top three: Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand.  Economic Freedom indicators include: rule of law, limited government intervention in the private sector, regulatory efficiency and open markets (Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal.)  Clearly the USA is not the freest country in the world when it comes to generating wealth, personal freedom and avoiding the heavy hand of Uncle Sam.