Chicago is trying to force Walmart to pay more for labor

If the council has it's way, then they will be losing businesses in Chicago:

During his 17 years in office, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley has yet to veto a bill passed by the city council, but that is likely to change over the next month because of an ordinance that would force the city's largest retailers -- including Wal-Mart -- to pay employees a "living wage" by 2010.

The measure requires retailers earning over $1 billion in annual sales and stores with at least 90,000 square feet of space to pay workers at least $10 an hour in wages plus $3 in benefits by mid-2010. It was passed by the council last month despite aggressive opposition from many companies and even Daley himself.

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Also, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., threatened to cancel plans to build as many as 20 new stores in the city over the next five years, while Target Corp. put plans to build three outlets "on hold" and said it might close its existing Chicago stores.

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After a contentious three-hour session on Wednesday, July 26, the council approved the bill 35 to 14, two votes more than needed to override a mayoral veto -- which must come before the next regularly scheduled council meeting on Sept. 13.

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Dick Simpson, professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told Cybercast News Service that if Daley does veto the bill, "he'll already have convinced two or more aldermen to vote with him."

Not only will they lose jobs, they will lose the ability to pay less for their products. Politicians should learn that they can't force businesses to pay more for labor than they want to.