Two weeks ago, thousands of fast food employees had organized protests to demand higher wages, said a Reuters report. Many of these workers were paid the federal minimum wage which was almost always without benefits. US minimum wages reached to a maximum annual salary of around USD15000 per worker. Workers who initiated the protests were seen to be living in poverty and could not afford basic healthcare services for their families, added the report.
Yet, workers in the fast food industry were not the only ones facing low wages. This was after more jobs had been created in the low-wage segments. These segments include retail sales, child care and home health assistance to name a few.
According to a Reuters report, policymakers had tried to aid low-wage employees through refundable tax credits instead of trying to increase their wages. Policymakers had also imposed wage subsidies that decreased the burden on workers.
However, the low-wage social contract had been seen to be unable to fulfill its theoretical promise. Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation in Washington Michael Lind suggested that the best solution would be making a contract based on the combination of higher salaries and universal public programs.
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