Different Ways to Spin a Cat

The whole brouhaha over the fallacy called a "living wage" at LAX area hotels has come to an end for now. Its interesting to take a look at how the story is being spun from different sides of the issue. But first for the reality check, Zuma Dogg broke the story with a blow by blow, Walter Moore tells citizens who is going to pay for the increases and the LA Times refreshingly gets it right.

Here is the LA Chamber of Commerce spin:

Chamber applauds L.A. City Council's decision to rescind living wage ordinance
The L.A. City Council voted 14 - 0 to rescind the living wage ordinance Wednesday. The Chamber has been working to repeal the City Council's extension of the living wage requirement to privately-operated hotels adjacent to the Los Angeles International Airport. The Chamber and fellow business organizations collected 110,000 signatures to petition for a referendum. The Chamber will continue to work with the mayor, City Council, LAX-adjacent hotels, labor and the rest of the business community to fashion a substitute ordinance within the next 30 days.

And now for the socialist point of view from the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy whatever that is:

Business leaders have dropped an effort to use a ballot referendum to overturn a landmark law that extends the city’s living wage ordinance to thousands of workers at hotels near Los Angeles International Airport. The decision comes after the release of a poll earlier this week showing overwhelming public support for the Century Boulevard living wage law. As part of an agreement reached between the Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles Hotel Association and supporters of the living wage, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and members of the City Council agreed to rescind the original ordinance and enact a new law that will raise wages for Century Boulevard hotel workers while providing certain assurances to business leaders. The new law will apply the city’s existing living wage rate of $10.64 an hour ($9.39 for those with employer-provided health benefits) to 3,500 hotel workers in 13 hotels along Century Boulevard. The wage standard will be phased in with three steps.

How about a list of all the people who are actually making bank on this? Blog away dum, dums.