The debate over allowing individual cities to set minimum-wage and other labor standards is based on emotion and political identity, not sound reasoning and evidence. In the 21st century, cities no longer function as economic units: Employees and customers — even for local businesses like restaurants, bars and barbershops — come from the entire metro region, not just the city in which a business happens to be located. All brick-and-mortar businesses are now regional, not municipal.

The debate should not be about the merits of raising the minimum wage or mandating sick leave, nor should it be about the freedom of businesses to set their own wages and benefits. The debate should be about what level of government should make such decisions.

As a small-business owner, I support enhanced sick leave and raising the minimum wage, but — and this is a very important but — you cannot do that only in Minneapolis without severely and unfairly damaging the ability of Minneapolis businesses to compete with those quite literally next door.

Minneapolis represents not quite 11 percent — 11 percent! — of the metro population. Such a small unit of government cannot order businesses in its tiny area to absorb labor costs that are 50 percent greater than those in cities next door without causing closings, relocations, hardship and destroyed dreams, especially for mom-and-pop shops with very tight margins. It violates a fundamental rule of economics: the level playing field. It will lead to distortions in the market, job losses in the city, diminished cultural vibrancy, resentment among workers, a loss of tip-wages for thousands, and many other unforeseen, negative consequences.

True liberals should support keeping labor policy at the state level, where it belongs, and focus political pressure on state lawmakers to create higher wages for everyone in the state or, perhaps, the metro, instead of wasting energy on this confused hodgepodge of municipal measures that may feel good to activists but make no sense economically, are not supported by the tipped-wage workers most affected and will cause more harm than good.

To Gov. Mark Dayton: We need you to do the adult thing and sign the bill now working its way through the Legislature to make wage and labor policy solely a state function, even as you publicly oppose it. Trade it for something genuinely progressive, like pre-K funding or another part of your agenda you could not get otherwise. It is both smart policy and smart politics — and the truly liberal thing to do.

Ken Darling is the owner of LUSH, a Minneapolis bar, restaurant and nightclub catering primarily to the LGBT community.