What’s Wal-Mart up to these days?

Oh, just a spot of blackmail. Nothing out of the ordinary.

. . . the retail giant is threatening to walk away from three planned sites if the DC City Council passes a “living wage” bill that would require all major employers to pay workers a minimum of $12.50 an hour.

Walmart claims that the bill, which applies to retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or more and stores that are 75,000 square feet or larger, is “arbitrary and discriminatory.” In a Washington Post editorial, general manager Alex Barron issued an ultimatum to Mayor Vincent Gray: veto the bill, or Walmart will halt construction on stores at Skyland, Capitol Gateway, and New York Avenue.

But hey, Wal-Mart’s a good corporate citizen, doncha know? That report that employees at an average Supercenter store use between $900K and $1.75M of publicly-funded programs because they can’t afford to pay for the equivalent services on the private market? Don’t let that worry your foolish little head, Mayor.

Is there a more despicable retailer on the planet?