City Living Wage Decision an Act of Redlining

The recent passage of ordinances requiring Century Boulevard hotels to pay “living wages” sounds fair. After all, how can you argue against paying employees a decent wage? My argument, though, is with “redlining.” That’s right, drawing a line around a business district and determining that those businesses will be required to pay wages determined by government. Of course, we all remember redlining as a process used by insurance companies to charge higher rates in certain areas based on the argument that “losses” were greater in the subject areas. Back then, the same held true for mortgages as well. Those days have gone by the wayside. But now we have a new type of redlining based on a flimsy argument that since the hotels benefit from the presence of the city-owned airport, the city can apply the same wage requirements they impose on businesses contracting directly with the city. Seems like a stretch to me. But then again, we all see the world differently. Only three council members opposed the ordinance Smith, Zine and Parks, and the mayor signed it into law. I guess the next step will be to claim that because businesses along Devonshire and Chatsworth Streets and for that matter, every other business street in the North Valley is flourishing because of their proximity to city-owned streets, government is therefore justified in dictating the wages those businesses must pay. After all, they benefit from the traffic on the city-owned roads. I guess the next step our wise elected officials will argue is that that since the streets are unquestionably newer and cleaner in the San Fernando Valley than in other parts of the city, let’s redline for increased salaries based on the economic vitality of select business corridors. Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? But if you accept the logic behind the council’s and the mayor’s recent action, rest assured that the latter scenario is consistent with their illogical thinking. If City Hall wants to get into the business of fighting poverty, it should do so with great deliberation, research, discussion and thought. Knee-jerk legislation may make them feel better, but nothing will be accomplished for anyone but the council members and the mayor. They get to claim that they’ve scored a victory on behalf of the “working poor.” And so, they’ve done the job. They can sigh in relief; avoid doing the really tough work of finding lasting solutions; and continue to perpetuate the fraudulent impression that they care and are addressing the issue responsibly. Shame on them! Wayne Adelstein is president and CEO of the North Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce