Assess the economic and social trade-offs of implementing a $15 federal minimum wage in the United States; test students' ability to evaluate impacts on employment, poverty, wages, small businesses, prices, regional cost-of-living differences, labor-force participation, and income distribution; interpret empirical evidence and data, weigh short- and long-run consequences and distributional effects, compare alternatives (e.g., regional rates, EITC), and make a justified policy recommendation supported by quantitative reasoning and equity considerations.