Good move, Mr. Daley

"In vetoing the ordinance, Mayor Daley cited a potential loss of jobs. In recent weeks, several big retailers had written to his office to oppose the ordinance. "I understand and share a desire to ensure that everyone who works in the city of Chicago earns a decent wage," the mayor wrote to the aldermen yesterday. "But I do not believe that this ordinance, well intentioned as it may be, would achieve that end. Rather, I believe that it would drive jobs and business from our city."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115799249720159515.html?mod=us_business_whats_news

I love how this Wal-Mart vs. Chicago City Council affair is unfolding. It's unfortunate, however, that, as usual, the ones who liberal public policymakers claim to stand for are the ones that end up being hurt. The same goes for school choice, vouchers. One of these days, Democrats are going to wake up and realize that the only supporters they have left are unions. By 'only', I mean just union members. But by then, unions might not exist due to right-to-work-friendly public bodies. This is a free country. Firms can set up shop anywhere they want. By passing legislations/ordinances mandating certain pay and benefit levels, the likes of Chicago and Maryland are saying they do not want for their citizens the consumer surplus that comes with low-priced goods, not to mention employment. So, thanks to such public representatives, the economic gap between life in the city and life in the suburbs widens. It's not as if Wal-Mart does not already pay such wages as those being mandated, and offer certain benefits. They do. But, they apparently do not wish to expand into areas where they would be overregulated and instructed how to conduct their own business. Their bottom line and growth over the years has conveyed to them that they must be doing something right.

This is what gives me pause when considering employment in such municipalities. One of these days, people will wake up and realize that voting for liberals/Democrats is against their own interests (save, of course, for trial lawyers, union members, etc.).