boutons_deux
10-15-2013, 11:33 AM
More than half of families of fast food workers receive some sort of public assistance, costing the nation $7 billion a year, according to a new report distributed by a group that has been pushing for union representation and higher wages for fast food workers.
Fast food workers earn an average of $8.69 an hour, and often work fewer than 40 hours a week, qualifying them for food stamps, Medicaid and tax credits, according to the report, written by economists at UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Even before it was released publicly, the report raised the ire of some conservative groups that said it used faulty methodology to prove a point.
"In its quest to unionize the fast food industry, the SEIU has demonstrated that it will leave no stone unturned -- including using 'research' and arguments that would get a higher grade in creative writing than in a high school economics class," said Michael Saltsman, research director at conservative think tank Employment Policies Institute, in a statement.
The report calculates that about $3.9 billion a year is spent on Medicaid and children’s healthcare for fast food workers and their families. Families also receive $1.04 billion in food stamp benefits and $1.91 billion from the federal government through the earned income tax credit. Even those workers who are on a 40-hour-a-week schedule receive benefits; more than half of those families are enrolled in public assistance programs, the report says.
Workers in the restaurant and food services industry far surpass workers in other industries for dependence on public assistance. About 44% of workers in the restaurant and food services sector have a family member enrolled in a public assistance program, compared to 35% for agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 30% in the retail trade.
The report has implications for national policies as Congress debates a farm bill that would cut back on food stamps, and as Republicans look to winnow down costs by scaling back other public assistance programs.
Public assistance programs “could be more effective if supplemented by measures that improve workers’ wages and benefits,” the report concludes.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/1780/article/p2p-77792172/
I wonder how many fully or partially employed were in the EBT affair?
Fast food workers earn an average of $8.69 an hour, and often work fewer than 40 hours a week, qualifying them for food stamps, Medicaid and tax credits, according to the report, written by economists at UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Even before it was released publicly, the report raised the ire of some conservative groups that said it used faulty methodology to prove a point.
"In its quest to unionize the fast food industry, the SEIU has demonstrated that it will leave no stone unturned -- including using 'research' and arguments that would get a higher grade in creative writing than in a high school economics class," said Michael Saltsman, research director at conservative think tank Employment Policies Institute, in a statement.
The report calculates that about $3.9 billion a year is spent on Medicaid and children’s healthcare for fast food workers and their families. Families also receive $1.04 billion in food stamp benefits and $1.91 billion from the federal government through the earned income tax credit. Even those workers who are on a 40-hour-a-week schedule receive benefits; more than half of those families are enrolled in public assistance programs, the report says.
Workers in the restaurant and food services industry far surpass workers in other industries for dependence on public assistance. About 44% of workers in the restaurant and food services sector have a family member enrolled in a public assistance program, compared to 35% for agriculture, forestry and fisheries and 30% in the retail trade.
The report has implications for national policies as Congress debates a farm bill that would cut back on food stamps, and as Republicans look to winnow down costs by scaling back other public assistance programs.
Public assistance programs “could be more effective if supplemented by measures that improve workers’ wages and benefits,” the report concludes.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/1780/article/p2p-77792172/
I wonder how many fully or partially employed were in the EBT affair?