Welcome to the capital

摘要

IT cannot be said that officials in Washington, dc lack confidence. True, the District has a jobless rate nearly a point higher than the national average, and over three points higher than neighbouring Virginia. But according to Vincent Orange, a city council member, the District is "at a point where we don't need retailers". Retailers, he claims, need the District. The council seems eager to test this hypothesis. On July 10th it passed a bill requiring retailers with at least $1 billion in annual sales and stores of more than 75,000 square feet to pay their workers $12.50 an hour-over 50％ more than the city's minimum wage of $8.25, which is already a dollar above the federal rate.