Thursday, July 24, 2008

The cost of Chicago jobs

Steve Bartin from Newsalert writes another article spring boarding off of the announcement that MillerCoors will make Chicago their headquarters and the subsidies they have received from city government. Here's an excerpt but go read the whole thing:
In the same week as the MillerCoors announcement, some rather grim news for Chicago and Illinois was released. The Illinois Department of Employment and Security reported that the “Illinois unemployment rate for June was 6.8 percent, climbing 0.4 percent points from May. The number of unemployed increased for the second month in a row, rising by 26,900 to 463,900 unemployed individuals, and reaching it highest level since June 1993.” To put things in perspective, last month, while the Illinois unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, the national unemployment rate was 5.5.

While Illinois and Chicago give MillerCoors the $20 million welcome, America’s largest retailer is an object of derision in Chicago. Wal-Mart was allowed to open its first store in Chicago’s city limits after a protracted fight in the City Council. The pro-union Chicago Aldermen have prevented any more Wal-Marts in Chicago. The thousands of jobs Wal-Mart could have provided Chicago’s poor and working class will not happen.

The taxpayers are allowed to subsidize MillerCoors with $20 million (for 400 jobs) in Chicago, but having several Wal-Marts employing thousands of job seekers is not to be in Chicago. Instead of challenging Chicago’s City Council to open up the city to an aggressive anti-union company, Mayor Daley wants organized labor peace. The organized labor calm is necessary to bring the Olympics to Chicago in 2016. Chicago didn’t have much domestic competition from other U.S. cities bidding on the Olympics because it’s a money loser for taxpayers. Mayor Daley, the unions, and businesses with heavy clout view the Olympics as a great heist with high tax tolerant Chicago taxpayers left with the tab.

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