Enough of the box

Nice to see some officials realizing that, while Wal-Mart and Target may bring jobs, the focus should be on industry that will provide better wages and health care:

...Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. lays some of the blame on the big-box planning model. He says we do not need - repeat, IX-NAY -— any more Targets and Kmarts, or any other Coliseum-size discount joints.

Not only do those places devour what little land is still available, but the jobs they provide are lousy, and it's not as if consumers have nowhere else to turn for tube socks and toilet paper. City officials would be smarter, Kyser says, if they used scarce land to build jobs in expected growth industries like technology, international trade and engineering.

Not only would the worker benefit, but so would the local economy as the worker spent his new wages in the community. It's a winning situation for everyone. Everyone except for Wal-Mart and Target, that is.