Oakland’s Minimum Wage Is Up, Wal-Mart Is Out

daily signal ^ | Jan 22, 2016 | Leah Jessen

[upchuck]

A minimum wage of $12.55 an hour in Oakland, Calif., may be the culprit for a Wal-Mart store's closure.

Wal-Mart announced Jan. 15 it will close 269 stores globally, including 154 locations in the United States-affecting about 10,000 associates across the nation... snip

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, a Democrat, has been leading statewide efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15.

"This higher city minimum wage eliminated the jobs of the very workers advocates wanted to help," said James Sherk, a research fellow in labor economics at The Heritage Foundation... snip

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that most Wal-Mart hourly store employees in the U.S. will see a pay increase in February.

[AFreeBird]

I think they’re working on automated systems for those stores.

[Dalberg-Acton]

“I’m surprised these Marxist areas don’t create laws making it illegal for businesses to move despite revenue losses.”

Me too. Maybe they could extradite and imprison the “fat cat” owners for having the temerity to cut off the cash spigot.

[Daffynition]

**Maybe someday something else might show up there ...**

Don't bother. They're here.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

The inability of liberals to acknowledge or even comprehend basic economics, simple arithmetic and human nature strikes again.

[JoeProBono]

Yeah, I got it Chuck.

[faithhopecharity]

There are some sincere good resident- folks and even an occasionally well- meaning politician — who try for years sometimes - to attract employers, including but not limited to good retail outlets that would benefit their largely-krapped-out cities like Oakland. But it only takes a few “community organizers” or riots - or endemic dangerous crime or shoplifting — for even the best ( and most well- intentioned) potential investors and business people to change their plans and run away. Too much pee in the punch bowl. Better to go where it’s safer

[chuckee]

Supermarket chain stores are as rare as dinosaurs in Detroit.Build it and they will come does not work in an open it and they will steal town.Throw in a hefty minimum wage requirement and watch the losses mount.

[kanawa]

Good news and bad news comrades.
The bad news... we only have turnips. The good news... we have lots of turnips.

[Ranger Warrior]

KMart, McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell to follow?

[Oatka]

hoplifting
A few years ago (at least at my location) WM re-assigned the elderly "greeters" to regular work assigments in the store.
They did that when I worked as a night stocker there, with the same result. One night some deputies came in saying they had stopped a couple of perps for some unrelated offense and found two boxed 55" flat screens in the rear seat. The perps said they just got them at WalMart and they were right - except they had no receipts.

Now I notice they are back at the doors. Even MBAs figure it out eventually.
They wised up here (NV) as well, and I see old friends back on station again.

[Oatka]

Maybe Wal-Mart is losing profits in stores located in poor neighborhoods isn’t because of an increase in the minimum wage, but because those making the current minimum wage can’t afford to shop at Wal-Mart

Or perhaps the clerks were letting their buddies through the checkouts, ringing up every other item.

[SunkenCiv]

The Obama Recession

to go with

The Obama Tax Hikes

[editor-surveyor]

.
Oakland is dead town.

Too far gone for the Raiders? - Thats bad!

Fruitvale, that used to be an upper middle neighborhood, is now absolute ghetto!

Hegenberger, where Walmart is, is unsafe to travel through in daylight.

I had a survey crew get attacked there while working on a CalTrans contract.

G’bye Oakland!
.

[norton]

At least 50% of the mom & pop stores around here (including all convenience stores but no antique stores or bars), are middle eastern or Asian.

Not necessarily a bad thing but I doubt that's the moms and pops you had in mind.

[ichabod1]

Bernie Burgers

[norton]

And Oakland loses all the sales tax revenue too, which will hurt the city quite a bit. Very sad but who knows? Maybe someday something else might show up there —?

I realize it's sarcasm, but be careful what you wish for.
We lost one of only two honest-to-god hardware stores in town and got a virtually empty community action (ACORN) center, followed up by an expanded Salvation Army center complete with a soccer field for deprived kiddies and a service center for handouts.
PS: The soccer field replaces a very popular small business vegetable garden & stand (of course, they hinted at creating a smaller plot to rent out).

[faithhopecharity]

Oh my. But Oakland is already ( almost) an acorn center by definition. It’s filled with destructive or obstructive “community organizers” ( you know the type) and their criminal/thug- rabble. This is in fact Oakland’s main problem. Without all the trash, Oakland would enjoy an economic revival of major proportion, given it is the centrally located city of the entire Bay Area, both geographically and in terms of the transportation network, and given its immediately adjacent to SillyCon Valley and San Fransicko.

[Mack the knife]

“I’m surprised these Marxist areas don’t create laws making it illegal for businesses to move despite revenue losses.”

---

I believe “Atlas Shrugged” referred to this as “Directive 1089”.

[Dalberg-Acton]

I cheated and used the internet. It was Directive 10-289. From SparkNotes:

According to the directive, workers must remain in their present jobs or face prison, and all businesses must remain in operation.
All patents and copyrights must be turned over to the government by means of voluntary Gift Certificates.
No new devices, inventions, or products can be produced.
Every company is required to produce the same amount of goods as the previous year, no more and no less.
Wages and prices are to be frozen, and every citizen is required to spend the same amount of money as in the previous year.
All research departments must close except for the State Science Institute.
To oversee the law, the Bureau of Economic Planning appoints a Unification Board, whose rulings are final.

[SkyDancer]

I saw a picture of a Mickey-D’s that didn’t have any counter people. What you did was tap in what you want on an icon and slide your CC and it’ll show up by someone. Half the staff needed to run the place.