This is Econ 101 stuff here, but: if you increase the minimum wage, you kill jobs. Supply, demand, etc. As an addendum: if you target companies you don't like in order to cripple their competitiveness, they won't build stores in your 'hood.
The geniuses on the D.C. City Council (a/k/a, Why D.C. Can't Have Nice Things) don't seem to understand these basic facts:
Wal-Mart is pulling out of two, possibly three, D.C. sites where it planned to build stores, citing the D.C. Council's impending adoption of a bill mandating large retailers pay a "living wage" to employees. The bill, which passed the on its first vote last month, will be put to a final tally Wednesday during the Council's final meeting of the current legislative session.
Representatives from Wal-Mart say the company will no longer build its planned stores at Skyland Town Center and Capitol Gateway, retail sites in Ward 7. "They're not bluffing me," Councilmember Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) says, having just left a meeting with the world's largest retailer. "We worked for many years to get this commitment. I really didn't think it would get to this point."
The Large Retailer Accountability Act requires companies that take in at least $1 billion in revenue annually to pay their employees at least $12.50 an hour, well above the District's minimum wage of $8.25. The bill also only applies to stores that are at least 75,000 square feet, thus exempting companies like Apple and Starbucks.
So instead of decreasing the unemployment rate in blighted Washington, D.C., neighborhoods, there will be no jobs. Good job, guys! You really nailed this whole "governance" thing.