Government Sanctioned Welfare Via Corporations

[PhantomOG]

Ok... maybe that's a bit harsh, but I do not agree with this at all.

Chicago passes "Living Wage" ordinance.

The ordinance, which passed 35-14 Wednesday after three hours of impassioned debate, requires mega-retailers to pay wages of at least $10 an hour plus $3 in fringe benefits by mid-2010.

People love the slippery slope around here, so I guess it won't be long until the local high school drop-outs get more pay and benefits than the people who worked hard and went to college.

Passing legislation like this has more negative side effects than positive. Alot of people in the US are already deluded enough about how much money their small skillsets and lack of ambition to work are worth. This just stiffles business in the US and sends more jobs overseas, where people are willing to work harder. Raising the minimum wage isn't the answer. Innovation (education) and creating jobs that developing countries cannot fulfill is the only way to alleviate the situation this legislation is trying to redress.

[jdhdiggs]

Aww crap, here we go again...

Walmart was never in Chicago proper and Target claimed that they will fire all their employees and leave the city if this was passed... Lucky employees go from being "underpaid" to unemployed. Thanks city council, you guys ROCK!

BTW, these are the same nimrods that passed legislation making Fois Gras illegal and forces fast food restraunts to change their ingrediants to make them healthier. Gotta love it. Fortunately the mayor hates the city councils actions (or so I hear)

[aaharvel]

While an increase to $10 minimum might be extreme, I think it's a step in the right direction.

It's no coincidence that since the minimum wage hasn't been increased in 9years yet inflation has gone up almost 6%, more people are working two jobs, and this also has a negative impact on the home-life and how kids are raised. You know.. issues that alot of us bitch about. The only problem is we don't look to see where the roots of the problem lie.

[PhantomOG]

The only problem is we don't look to see where the roots of the problem lie.

The root of the problem isn't minimum wage. The root of the problem is why the head of a household can't get a job that pays more than minimum wage. Raising minimum wage doesn't raise those people's skillsets-- it only raises the costs of good for the companies that pay them. Which, in turn, causes inflation and you are just stuck in an endless cycle.

[Demiurge]

Minimum wage is unecessary, nobody was ever intended to live on it to begin with.

Why not make it $40/hr?

[PhantomOG]

Walmart was never in Chicago proper and Target claimed that they will fire all their employees and leave the city if this was passed... Lucky employees go from being "underpaid" to unemployed. Thanks city council, you guys ROCK!

Wal-Mart is making similar claims, and even decided to move a planned new store just outside city limits because of this type of legislation.

Wal-Mart spokesman John Bisio said earlier that if the measure passed, "We'd redirect our focus on our suburban strategy and see how we could better serve our city of Chicago residents from suburban Chicagoland."

Some aldermen also warned that Target Corp. might rethink its presence in the city — though the Minneapolis-based company has not discussed the issue.

[brettw22]

The Mayor can't Veto the bill because the vote for it vs. against it was too high for him to have the right to Veto it.

It'll be appealed.......

Wal-Mart's arguement is that it's discriminatory to mandate that a specific company model be held to a higher standard than everyone else, and I agree with them.

[Demiurge]

Wal-Mart also employs the mentally handicapped. I wonder if they'll decide to only hire able bodied people with high school diplomas for positions now since they're forced to pay the higher wages.

[jdhdiggs]

Have you thought that maybe people should check their spending habits and deciosionmaking first? I agree that minimum wage is far too low for someone to live off of alone, but I don't want to see the government mandating higher wages just so people can get their HDTV's on a second earners salary while neglecting the kids. How many of the walmart-workers are primary earners that aren't on retirement? I suspect it is a low number but I don't know.

[Demiurge]

Minimum wage laws are socialist nonsense that only causes inflation and provide unfounded hope for people with no understanding of economic realities. I predict that the cost of goods in Chicago will go up proportionally according to the added cost of selling goods in Chicago brought on by this silly law. What I find truly astounding is that most people who back minimum wage laws are for allowing illegal immigration. Talk about a perfect formula to build a permanent poverty class. Forcing employers to pay legal citizens $10/hr whilst allowing them to illegally employ non-citizens for half that is a sure fire way to make unskilled legal citizens virtually unemployable even in a booming economy.

What makes it worse is that it's being sanctioned selectively against certain kinds of businesses, which is why it can't possibly hold.

This will likely be repealed just like forced "health benefit" legislation in Maryland was.

These politicians are feckless whores.

Almost seems that the only way to force a new paradigm on the political class is to start putting them against the wall and shooting them. They don't seem to understand anything else, nor are they held responsible.

[Shizelbs]

Spokane is looking to do the same thing.

[shack]

Remember the Maryland law that mandated specific size businesses to provide a certain level of health care (Wal-Mart was the only business that met the criteria). That law was overturned by the courts because it was obvious that they were targeting specific businesses as opposed to providing health care to the general public. I would assume this law would be treated similarly.

[Shizelbs]

Lets just hope that should this ruling stand that it will provide overwhelming evidence of a failed system and will never be entertained again.