Thursday digest

- A couple of days ago, my loony left play of the day came from Chicago city council and their attempt to ban foie gras from the city's eateries. And now, for the first time, the loony left play of the day goes to the same contestant in the same week with news that the council has set a wage floor as it applies to Walmart and other big box retailers. While smaller discounters will be allowed to pay employees the minimum wage of $6.75 per hour, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Kmart and Toys R Us will have to pay their workers at least $10, or over one-third more, per hour, not including benefits (mandated at $3 per hour on top of the $10, which almost doubles the cost of each worker at current rates).

This is going to have a number of very harmful effects:

1. There will be less incentive for these employers to both hire more workers and open more stores because it will be more cost-prohibitive for them to do so;
2. This in turn is going to make it harder for unskilled workers (the former welfare recipient who would be a good candidate to stock shelves, for example) to break into the labour market and gain valuable job experience through these positions; and
3. Prices are going to have to go up in order to pay for these wages, which is going to make it more difficult for lower and middle class families who rely on Walmart and Kmart to purchase items like food, clothing and school supplies.

Once again, the actions of government, when taken to help the unfortunate and underprivileged, in effect harms those who it is supposed to help. Sit back and see the law of unintended consequences at work here, folks.

(HT: Right Wing News.)

- On that note, I have the sneaking suspicion that some people don't get how business responds to incentives or coercive discouragement because they have grown to take certain things for granted. A word to the wise: don't.

- Hey look, it's one of Cindy Sheehan's pals embarassing herself during the Iraq PM's speech to Congress yesterday. I also couldn't help but notice that the Canadian New Democratic Party's Libby Davies has decided to join Cindy's fast. Maybe she'll return to Ottawa when the House re-opens in September looking a little more svelte and I can lower how much I'd have to be paid to make out with her from a cool mil to $950 K.

- Another Dem mis-step yesterday as DNC Party Chair Howard Dean finally revealed his position on Hezbollah. How did he do this? By referring to the invited guest of the US Congress, the aforementioned Iraqi PM, as an "anti-Semite" because he hasn't condemned them. Why did Dean have to wait for two weeks and a speech a predominantly Jewish West Palm Beach crowd to finally spell out his position? I'd say it's because as the hero of the Angry Left he couldn't bring himself to say that Israel has the right to defend itself against terror until political expediency demanded that he do so. There's no question that the Republicans have made several huge mistakes on a number of issues, but day after day, week after week, the post-Clinton Democratic party just keeps screwing up royally, leaving mainstream America with no other choice but to support the current Administration, especially when al-Qaeda continues to declare holy war.

- I think this type of thing happens more frequently in Quebec than we might think. I have long thought that minorities are always the hardest on other minorities, especially when we're talking about francophone "bluenecks". Blanket statement, but my sneaking suspicion nonetheless.