- Walmart just backed out of a deal that would have resulted in building 2 stores in Washington D.C.
- They had announced 2 years ago that they were going to open in the poorest areas of the city
- Since then, the city council has massively increased the minimum wage and added a wage-tax for all employers
- Walmart decided that economic conditions for constructing and then the ongoing operations for a store in this area would be too anemic to proceed – and canceled the deal
- City leaders are furious at the company
In the pursuit of economic justice, city leaders created an environment inhospitable to a business that would have (1) created jobs during construction (2) created good long-term employment opportunities (3) bring a wildly popular low-price retailer in to the city.
For reference, here are economic facts on the ground in Ward 7, where one of the stores was intended to be placed:
- 33% poverty rate – almost double the average within the District
- 13.4% unemployment rate – almost triple the national average
- 60% graduation rate at the local high school
- 388 crimes committed (120 of which were violent) in the last 60 days – more than 6 PER DAY (2 violent crimes per day)
If there ever were a neighborhood where jobs and a fantastic low-price retailer were needed, it’s Ward 7 in D.C.. Unfortunately, these residents will not be given the opportunity due to nonsense anti-business activities from their elected (overwhelmingly leftist Democrat) politicians.
H/T National Center for Policy Review
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