Chicago Orders “Big Box” Stores to Raise Wage
By ERIK ECKHOLMAfter months of fevered lobbying and bitter debate, the Chicago City Council passed a groundbreaking ordinance yesterday requiring “big box†stores, like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, to pay a minimum wage of $10 an hour by 2010, along with at least $3 an hour worth of benefits.
The ordinance, imposing the requirement on stores that occupy more than 90,000 square feet and are part of companies grossing more than $1 billion annually, would be the first in the country to single out large retailers for wage rules.
Now, as much as I think this is a stupid idea, this is the level of government at which it belongs. If the people of Chicago want to make it so that everyone has to be paid $10/hour, that is their decision, and they will ultimately suffer or reap the consequences of their actions. Anyone who doesn’t like the policy can leave. This is a right not given to the federal government by the constitution, so is reserved for the states. Now while I believe it is poor economic police for the state to intervene in private transactions, if the people of Chicago wish to drive the large retailers out of their city, it is their decision.