Tomorrow’s the day. Nationwide protests. Strikes. Demonstrations.
Maybe the workers at McDonalds won’t get $15 an hour, but maybe they will get something. In fact, both McDonalds and WalMart recently announced a wage increase for their employees, although in the case of McDonalds, the increase won’t affect the franchises where most employees work.
Do you know who pays for the low wages of the working poor? We do. Patricia Cohen, in an article entitled “Counting Up the Hidden Costs of Low Pay” in the April 13 Business section of the NYT, noted that nearly 3/4s of the people helped by federal programs geared to the poor are members of a family headed by a worker. You and I are subsidizing KFC and Walmart workers.
The number one state where this phenomenon occurs is Texas, where 67% of the federal safety net programs (Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, TANF, earned income tax credit, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) go to working families.
Meanwhile, proud Texans Rick Perry and Ted Cruz rail against the federal government--and get elected in this bright red state.
My father-in-law, who lived in Gregory, Texas, said that Texans were dumb as a box of hair.
I want to send out a thank you to Richard White, who sent me a link to an excellent song entitled “I want my country back” by David Ippolito.
Your welcome.
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