Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab for Corporations that Can Afford to Pay Their Employees More

[88m3]

Infographic: Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab for Corporations that Can Afford to Pay Their Employees More
ByMelissa BoteachandSarah Baron| March 5, 2014

Too many Americans are working long hours for wages that are too low to support their families. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 is a poverty wage; it is just$15,080 annuallyfor a full-time worker, which is$4,000 below the poverty linefor a family of three. This helps explain why millions of low-wage workers look to public assistance programs such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or SNAP, for help.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act would raise the minimum wage to$10.10 by 2015, which would grow the economy by$22 billion, help28 million American workersmake ends meet, and lift900,000 Americansout of poverty. It would also reduce costs for taxpayers because as wages increased, low-wage workers would rely less on nutrition assistance to put food on the table. In fact, a study from CAP and the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at University of California at Berkeley finds that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will generate $4.6 billion in annual savings in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, or approximately $46 billion over 10 years.

SNAP is an effective nutrition programthat helped millions of families keep food on the table, acted as an important economic stimulus, and improved health, education, and workforce outcomes for low-income children. Taxpayers can be proud of this investment and still wonder why so many working families need the safety net to stay afloat when many low-wage employers have not only recovered from the recession but their profits have increased. In fact, the net incomes of four of the largest low-wage employers,Wal-Mart,McDonald’s,Yum! Brands—which include Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC—andTarget, represent five times the amount of cost savings in SNAP resulting from a minimum wage hike to $10.10. While the SNAP savings represent a significant reduction in safety net costs, they are a drop in the bucket for corporations enjoying billions in profits.



This begs the question: Why are corporations asking taxpayers to foot the bill for supplementing low wages when they can more than afford to pay a higher wage? It’s time to raise the minimum wage.


Infographic: Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab for Corporations that Can Afford to Pay Their Employees More | Center for American Progress

 

[Captain Crunch]

 

[MostReal]

Great stuff 88

 

[Mr swag]

Looks like it should be 9.20 an hour so tax payers don't pay anything. Should be fair to everyone

 

[Lucy]

I've never understood why this first-world nation has such an aggression against taking care of its citizens. There are other nations who are doing a better job at it then us.

 

[tmonster]

I warned y'all, this would not happen if we abolished all taxes and salaries
An employer should be able to decide what he wants to pay an employee based the employer's examination the cut of the candidate's jib or using scientific phrenology standards (needless to say larger=head larger pay)
before you come in here whining about infrastructure, shut up and build your part of the road and bridge and your off-grid solar panel.

 

[tmonster]

I've never understood why this first-world nation has such an aggression against taking care of its citizens. There are other nations who are doing a better job at it then us.

people should take care of themselves and stop being babies...

hell don't get me started about babies, just don't come crying to me when you socialists realize that we never had to accept the tyranny of big infant industrial complex!

 

[tmonster]

This begs the question: Why are corporations asking taxpayers to foot the bill for supplementing low wages when they can more than afford to pay a higher wage? It’s time to raise the minimum wage.

Infographic: Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab for Corporations that Can Afford to Pay Their Employees More | Center for American Progress

like you don't know the answer to that?
you socialists empowered this runaway government to oppress these corporations into taking these measures to protect the fruits of their hard laboryou gonna have to live with the results

 

[88m3]

Anyone want to find an angle on how this is acceptable to taxpayers?

 

[thekingsmen]

I've never understood why this first-world nation has such an aggression against taking care of its citizens. There are other nations who are doing a better job at it then us.

Who said this was a nation? Plus it's the same place that want people to pull themselves up by their own boot-straps.