According to a recent National Employment Law Project (NELP) report, U.S. taxpayers must cover an enormous bill in the form of public assistance programs to fast-food industry workers who are paid less than a “living wage”. McDonald’s alone cost taxpayers $1.2 billion last year. The top seven fast-food companies combined for $3.3 billion in taxpayer funds. Whether you work in the fast-food business, eat fast-food, or even avoid eating it, this government-subsidized industry is costing you big time. As explained by NELP policy analyst Jack Temple, “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.”
These public assistance programs include the earned income tax credit, SNAP benefits (also known as food stamps), Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The largest of these is Medicaid. “Almost 90% of workers in the fast-food industry do not get health insurance," Temple said. "In addition to being a low-wage business model, it is also a virtually no-benefit business.”
Temple noted that while these companies are trying to save money by paying their employees less, they may in fact be saving much less than they think. One such cost may come in the form of the industry’s high turnover rate. Training even low skill-level workers saps time, resources, and productivity. “Companies are just churning workers, and that’s due to low wages. When you invest in higher wages, you actually get significant savings in the form of reduced employee turnover.”
But is high turnover a strong enough incentive for these companies to raise wages? Certainly these corporate behemoths have crunched numbers vis-à-vis turnover rates, wages, and cost control. NELP asserts that these companies, given their growth and considerable profitability, are in a position to compensate their workers more without hurting their bottom line.
I believe there is a better solution, based upon a choice we all can make – dramatically minimizing our consumption of fast food. I hear the excuses: "I don't have the time to cook a healthy meal;" "I don't have the time or money for a healthy restaurant meal." Think about what it costs your health by eating fast food – sluggish energy, sick days, visits to the doctor, chronic illness, and how that affects your pocketbook and productivity. A decline in fast food joints means a shift to sustainable jobs that promote sustainable lifestyles which require more job training and better wages. It will also reduce bloated government assistance programs and empower workers with more skilled positions that create more benefits to their communities and the greater society.
What would greatly propel this transition is a concerted public health campaign, similar to the “Stop Smoking” crusade witnessed in the 1960s and ‘70s. Where there is a will, there is a way…if we demand it!
