The report calls out the fast-food industry for its low wages, citing a median salary of $8.69 an hour and a history of offering part-time work. That might have been fine when those behind the counter were mostly teenagers living at home. These days, though, 68 percent of fast-food workers are single or married adults who aren’t in school—and 26 percent are raising children.
Overall, 52 percent of families of fast-food workers are enrolled in one or more public assistance programs, compared with 25 percent of the workforce as a whole. Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program accounted for nearly $4 billion of the $7 billion figure. The Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program accounted for the rest. ”Public benefits receipt is the rule, rather than the exception, for this workforce,” the authors write.
A second study, based on the data collected by Allegretto and her colleagues, names names. Workers at McDonald’s (MCD), the biggest hamburger chain, are estimated to have received the most public assistance: $1.2 billion worth a year from 2007 to 2011. “McDonald’s and our independent franchisees provide jobs in every state to hundreds of thousands of people across the country,” a McDonald’s spokesperson said. “As with most small businesses, wages are based on local wage laws and are competitive to similar jobs in that market.”
Article Appeared @http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-15/mcdonalds-low-wages-come-with-a-7-billion-side-of-welfare#r=hp-ls