The majority (66 per cent) of low-wage workers are not employed by small businesses, but rather by large corporations with over 100 employees.
The 50 largest employers of low-wage workers have largely recovered from the recession and most are in strong financial positions: 92 per cent were profitable last year; 78 percent have been profitable for the last three years; 75 per cent have higher revenues now than before the recession; 73 per cent have higher cash holdings; and 63 per cent have higher operating margins (a measure of profitability) and they have returned $174.8bn to shareholders in dividends or share buybacks over the past five years.
According to the "living wage calculator" at MIT's website, a basic living wage for a single individual is $8.45 in the low-cost state of Mississippi, for a 2-child 3-person family it's $21.08. In a more typical state - Wisconsin - the figures are $8.87 for an individual and $26.64 for a similar family of three. In New York City, the figures are $12.75 for an individual and $32.30 for a single-parent family of three.
McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's pay a median wage of $8.90 an hour. At Walmart, it's $8.81 an hour. Personal care aides at $9.82/hour and home health aides at $10.28/hour will account for 1.3m new jobs from 2010 to 2020. These workers are not teenagers. Most have to support families. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median age of fast-food workers is over 28; and women, who comprise two-thirds of the industry, are over 32. The median age of big-box retail workers is over 30.
Economics used to be called "political economy" because economics was a thoroughly political activity.
From Al Jazeera
The 50 largest employers of low-wage workers have largely recovered from the recession and most are in strong financial positions: 92 per cent were profitable last year; 78 percent have been profitable for the last three years; 75 per cent have higher revenues now than before the recession; 73 per cent have higher cash holdings; and 63 per cent have higher operating margins (a measure of profitability) and they have returned $174.8bn to shareholders in dividends or share buybacks over the past five years.
According to the "living wage calculator" at MIT's website, a basic living wage for a single individual is $8.45 in the low-cost state of Mississippi, for a 2-child 3-person family it's $21.08. In a more typical state - Wisconsin - the figures are $8.87 for an individual and $26.64 for a similar family of three. In New York City, the figures are $12.75 for an individual and $32.30 for a single-parent family of three.
McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's pay a median wage of $8.90 an hour. At Walmart, it's $8.81 an hour. Personal care aides at $9.82/hour and home health aides at $10.28/hour will account for 1.3m new jobs from 2010 to 2020. These workers are not teenagers. Most have to support families. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the median age of fast-food workers is over 28; and women, who comprise two-thirds of the industry, are over 32. The median age of big-box retail workers is over 30.
Economics used to be called "political economy" because economics was a thoroughly political activity.
From Al Jazeera
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