You got it again. Of course their wage is artificial…it is inflated in proportion to the imposed wage minimum. (Not by $8/hr or whatever the minimum is, but in proportion to the amount of the labor market that the mandate forces out of the equation. This is why Bill is saying real wages would go up…because since the wage rate is artificially high, people are getting paid more than they otherwise would in a free market…which means the cost of production is higher, and therefore end-user prices are higher.)
Have a look at this list and pick out the titles that sound relevant to your particular questions. I think that’ll help with the specifics.