This week, workers from McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s received supersized coverage when they walked off the job as part of a national strike. In Gotham, the walkout was organized by Fast Food Forward whose war cry runs atop its Web page: “We can’t survive on $7.25!”
Well, neither could we. But that’s not what minimum-wage jobs are about. Though organizers put forward workers who are supporting their families on fast-food wages — a Manhattan Institute scholar was bemused to find that one had his own publicist! — this gives a highly distorted picture of the people who work for minimum wage or at fast-food restaurants.
Barack Obama’s own Department of Labor tells us so. Only 2.9 percent of American workers paid by the hour and over the age of 25 are making at or below the minimum wage. In other words, these are overwhelmingly entry-level jobs for young people with low skills, or jobs for retirees, spouses and college students picking up extra cash in their spare hours.
New York pols seem to believe they can simply raise the standard of living by decree. True, it’s not likely they will go for the $15 an hour “living wage” the activists want. But even if they go for a more modest increase, it carries a price that will be paid somewhere. Our guess is this price will include companies cutting back hours or moving to replace humans with machines.
We don’t doubt that hard-working New Yorkers are struggling. But remember: They aren’t struggling because McDonald’s or Wendy’s give them jobs. They are struggling because witless politicians have created a business environment that limits opportunities to advance and keeps our unemployment rate above even the dismal national average.