Another U.S. city mulls bankruptcy due to soaring wages and pensions

[LooseWilly]

27. Walmart, McDonald's, TacoTown, etc... all probably live there somewhere

Corporations don't respond to taxes by cutting benefits to their own employees... they cut benefits to their employees whenever they think they can get away with it in order to reduce "labor costs" and thereby increase the profit ratios on their books... the notion that they do so in response to something as specific as an increased municipal tax is specious at best.

In any case... A) I don't see how these minimum wage sweatshop-like retail outlets could cut the benefits to their employees any more than they already have. B) It will help the town pay the public employees who have been providing services to those same corporate tenants, taking the burden off homeowners and others who would otherwise have to foot the bill for yet another bond to re-structure payments. C) Precious little income taxes from those employees gets to the municipalities... especially considering the fact that most probably make so little that they get EIC refunds and very likely also SNAP and even HUD assistance just to get by. D) If the corporate tenants try to play hardball and clear out... that might open up an opportunity for some small business to open up shop... likely paying better wages to employees and also likely not expecting the same sort of super-favorable tax and services treatment as the big box retail shops expect... and in the process more of the revenues are liable to be spent locally and thereby returned to the community, rather than being diverted to a corporate HQ banking account and diverted to shareholders and CEO bonuses.

All told... I see a pretty sizeable net benefit for the town... if only the managers would run it on something other than a corporate model.