More Economically Obtuse Attacks on Big Retailers

Despite a similar law in Maryland, the infamous "Wal-Mart law", being declared invalid by a federal court, the Chicago City Council has gone ahead and passed their own version of the law, which mandates increased wages for workers at large retailers. No doubt this law will get challenged and struck down, but in the meantime, you can bet there will be no development by Wal-Mart, Home Depot and the like within the city limits of Chicago. These firms may well choose to open stores just inches across the city lines and give the tax revenue that there presence creates to smaller suburban towns.

New York has not made the same mistake as Maryland or Chicago...not yet at least.

And ironically, as I was typing this out I just got a call from a friend who was going over his weekend plans with me, which included a quite common practice of NYCity-folk...making that 20 minute drive to the Costco/Home Depot/Stew Leonard's big box trifecta in Yonkers.

One would think that our elected officials simply can't be that obtuse about economic reality that they could entertain such a law, but apparently it is so. Russ Roberts gives you more lowdown.