If ‘food deserts’ are a problem, blame Chicago politicians
The Chicago Tribune ran a front-page story lamenting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s failure to eliminate food deserts in Chicago. A food desert is an area in which residents allegedly lack easy access to supermarkets that offer fresh produce. The exact definition varies depending on who you ask and when – the city used to consider areas without a...
The Chicago Tribune ran a front-page story lamenting Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s failure to eliminate food deserts in Chicago.
A food desert is an area in which residents allegedly lack easy access to supermarkets that offer fresh produce. The exact definition varies depending on who you ask and when – the city used to consider areas without a grocery store of at least 2,500 square feet within half a mile to be food deserts, but has recently changed the definition to include only areas without a grocery store of at least 10,000 square feet within one mile.
Two years ago, Emanuel held a “food desert summit” at which he called on supermarket-chain executives to build stores in allegedly underserved areas. Emanuel promised the public that, thanks to his urging, Chicago’s food deserts would soon have 39 more Walgreens stores selling fresh fruits and vegetables, and 17 new grocery stores. But only a few have actually opened. He also promoted 11 potential sites for new grocery stores to store executives, all of which remain vacant.
If Emanuel really wants to give residents of poor areas more options, the answer isn’t more PR-stunt summits or attempts to nudge CEOs to put stores where they don’t want to put them. Instead, he should think more about why businesses are reluctant to open in poor parts of town, and consider that it may have something to do with:
- A City Council that thought it was a good idea to pass a $10-an-hour “living wage” ordinance(vetoed by Mayor Richard M. Daley) that specifically targeted “big box” stores such as Walmart in 2006
- A powerful alderman, Ed Burke, who, apparently unaware of the First Amendment, told Walmart it had to support pro-union legislation before it could open stores in Chicago
- Aldermen who make other unreasonable demands and suppress new businesses to protect cronies
If Chicago has a food desert problem, it’s really just a subset of a “business desert” problem that has resulted from the city’s corrupt political culture, taxes and regulations. The city doesn’t just deprive poor neighborhoods of food options; more importantly, it deprives them of jobs that would alleviate their poverty.
Emanuel should give up on trying to persuade businesses to open stores in particular places; he is entirely unqualified to determine where it would be profitable for them or any other business to locate. Instead, he should radically revise Chicago’s attitude toward business; rein in a City Council full of corrupt, all-powerful aldermen; and get government out of the way so the market can deliver its benefits to all of the city.