Fast-food workers and supporters protest on the streets of Los Angeles © Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images Would you like a living wage with that? The fast-food industry is one of the nations largest employers of low- and minimum-wage workers. And according to one group, employees are often not paid enough and forced to turn to government programs for assistance. According to the National Employment Law Projects (NELP) newest report, because the fast-food industry pays its workers less than a living wage, U.S. taxpayers must foot the bill in the form of the public assistance programs these workers must use to get by. McDonalds alone, according to the group, cost taxpayers $1.2 billion last year. What this report shows, explained NELP policy analyst Jack Temple, is that whether or not you work in the fast-food industry or eat fast food, the industry is costing you. The low-wage business model that this industry is based on drains resources from the economy by forcing low-pay workers to rely on public assistance in order to make ends meet. Such assistance includes programs like the earned income tax credit, SNAP benefits (food stamps), Medicaid, the Childrens Health Insurance Program and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. At least one group has taken issue with NELPs argument. Employment Policies Institute research director Michael Saltsman explained that the current system is preferable to raising the minimum wage substantially. The earned income tax credit has lifted thousands of people out of poverty, and it has done it without the consequences of increasing the minimum wage, Saltsman said. Based on a recent report by NELP, the website 24/7 Wall St. identified the seven publicly traded fast-food companies that cost the government the most money. Click through this slideshow to see the top five chains, then visit 24/7 Wall St. for two more and the full report.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:04:22 +0000
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