Wal-Mart targeted again
Boy it must really suck to have a successful company in America these days. Build yourself a monster company, control your prices to ramp up income, and big government beats a path to your front door.
Recently a bill was overturned in Massachusetts that controlled health benefits FOR Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart alone inside the state of Massachusetts. According to law makers in that state, Wal-Mart was being irresponsible and unfair (a buzzword if I ever heard one) with their health care policies. So they did what any self respecting big government would do, they took it upon themselves to impose laws on a private company. The bill was overturned, but there are those out there fighting for it to be reinstated.
Now, move a little westward to the wonderful world of Chicago, Illinois. The City Council for Chicago has passed a “living wage bill. Now, we all want to make “good money” where we work, and one would think that passing a bill imposing a “living wage” on all companies in your city would improve people’s “spending power”… but there’s a TINY catch. The bill in question applies ONLY to companies in Chicago who’s annual income is >$1 Billion and who’s stores occupy more than 90,000 sq. feet. Companies in the spotlight… Wal-Mart and Target.
The bill requires that Wal-Mart and Target pay their employee’s at least $10 an hour. Why $10? Well because it’s a nice wholesome number… but while we’re at it, what’s wrong with $15…$20? I sure as heck would love a $12/hour raise if I worked there.
Wal-Mart was in planning stages to build stores in Chicago… and Target already has stores inside city limits. Target has already thrown down the gauntlet and declared that it will pull out of Chicago if the government demands to control their wages. Wal-Mart should skip town too, but chances are that they will build JUST outside of the bill’s jurisdiction, thus requiring Chicago residents to travel a bit to go shopping.
ken
28 Jul, 2006
Spoken like someone who has never lived in Chicago. See, Chicago is a “big city”. It has horrible traffic — some planners a long time ago created all these town-squares with huge roundabouts. The roundabouts are gone, but every few intercections is with 3 (not 2) streets. Narrow, streets. With lots of cars, lots of bicycles, and aggressive drivers.
No one “travels” anywhere to do daily shopping — this isn’t Tulsa or Dallas. It takes 1-3 hours to drive anywhere by car (I’d say 1 hour from Downtown to Hyde Park; 2 during rush hour. All the way across town to the burbs? 2 hours, minimum!) You can take trains, but the commuter trains that go outside of the city aren’t really for shopping — they’re for people who live in Indiana or the Western exurbs who work in the city.
So, while someone who lives very much near the border might cross the city limits to go shopping, that’s something they’d do anyway — the sales taxes are remarkably lower. But if you think they’ll be some kind of exodus to go to Wal-marts and Targets in the ‘burbs, you’re wrong.
Recently a two-story Target went up in the South Loop area — just outside of downtown. I think they pay more than $10/hr for starting wages, so who knows — maybe they’ll stay.