Rebecca Paxton, director of research at the Employment Policy Institute, wrote in a May 17 letter, “$19 Big Mac Meal, $20 Minimum Wage, Bad Combination for Fast Food Workers,” It suggests that the $20 minimum wage for workers is the cause of layoffs and inflation. hiking.
Paxton laments that popular fast-food combo items now cost more than $25, a 7% increase in the price of a Chipotle burrito. What she doesn’t point out is that EPI is a think tank that is partially funded by the fast food industry, so it’s no surprise that corporate executives’ high salaries and short-sighted profits in such cases The emphasis is probably not adjusted. An iota that helps compensate workers for a fairer income.
There are countless ways for companies to keep prices reasonable for customers while paying their employees minimum wage, but don’t expect the fast food industry to join in building such a responsible marketplace community anytime soon.
Mr. Paxton said that attorney Mike Ross, who highlighted some of fast food’s devastating social costs in a May 8 op-ed, “A $19 Big Mac Meal is a Good Thing,” said, “Raises don’t give workers more money. You should know that it is of no use.” If they don’t have a job. ”
What Paxton should know is that for informed consumers and workers, her corporate take on this issue will be difficult to swallow.
Jared Pendak
Bradford, Vermont
