Minimum/living wage-Healthcare

Chicago has passed a living wage ordinance. Mayor Daley is looking like he may give in to fear tactics.

Daley tipped his hand one day after Target pulled out of a 32-acre shopping mall at 119th and Marshfield and hinted strongly it would cut and run from the North Side's Wilson Yards project as well....... Businesses don't have to be in Chicago. . . . If they don't feel welcome, they'll go someplace else. . . . They can build on the other side [of the city limits]. . . . They're going to get our customers anyway," Daley said.

And when all those low wage jobs are in cities around Chicago what do you think that is going to do to those areas. I mean ,especially today, people can't drive everyday 20 or 30 miles both ways for a low wage job. The poor will be in or as close as they can get to the suburbs or you will have very unskilled(teenagers) labor serving you. Lets also look at it the way a crafty entrepreneur would look at it. A shortage of these stores in Chicago would imply strong demand. It would help people avoid driving many miles to get the goods they are looking for, wasting gas and time. They might even be able to add a percent or two to the price without swamping the inconvenience of travel. Business would be boffo! Your labor poll is much larger because more people would likely want to and find it economically feasible to work there. Result....pick of the better, more productive employees.
From the political standpoint higher wages reduce welfare roles and actually makes employment easier.
Now the down side of this potential plan...10 dollars an hour and 3 dollars in other benefits. That is in the vicinity of 20 thousand a year in wages and 6 thousand in benefits. While this is certainly not an ungodly wage and in the ballpark as far as cost of health insurance it may be a bit much. I am pro small business(although box stores are certainly not that). Maybe 8 dollars would be a better starting point. The insurance thing is another matter completely. It seems to me that the large companies could almost start their own insurance companies and make it work..maybe not. Could we pool businesses, large and small together to make it more affordable? If people are going to whine about "socialism" when we talk universal health care then they are going to have to come up with another answer. Right now people with insurance are filling the gap of the uninsured. In other words you(if you are insured) are paying for the health care for Walmart and Targets' employees. Shouldn't they pull their boot straps and be personally responsible for their employees? Why should you have to pay so they can have another billions in profits? It seems to me universal health care is the answer. That takes the burden off business and makes sure everyone personally pays in for their own health care. A majority of America seems to agree with this according to polls but there are still the leftover "red scare" people out there. I say they should find their own solution to the problem if single payer doesn't satisfy them. They just look impotent to me. Do something and quit whining!