President Barack Obama is right to want to put more money in the pockets of lower-paid workers. Issuing another government regulation, however, is not the best way to get it there.

Once a new Labor Department rule takes effect, workers earning between $23,660 and $47,476 will be entitled to overtime pay — extending a provision that already applies to the lowest-paid. The new upper threshold will be increased every three years in line with a measure of wage growth. More than 4 million workers will be newly eligible, according to the government, boosting wages by an estimated $12 billion over the next 10 years.

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