Letters: Quick, more money!
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Re “Fast-food labor strikes head to L.A.,” Aug. 21
Fast-food restaurants became successful because of easily prepared food and the low cost of unskilled labor.
Such establishments were once the domain of young, entry-level workers getting experience and pocket change.
The successful business model filled a vital role in training an American workforce while giving an increasingly commuter public “dashboard dining.”
Since when did this type of employment become a career?
Helen Crosby
Sylmar
Having read that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour has not been raised in four years, I realized that accounting for inflation and the higher cost of living, the adjusted wage should be more than $9 an hour. That alone represents a big loss of purchasing power for the fast-food workers.
I contend that raising the wage to $15 an hour would change both the living standard and purchasing power of these workers. They would rise. They could spend more money on manufactured goods and, for that matter, in the fast-food restaurants in which they work.
If workers get more purchasing power, that would increase demand across the economy and employment would rise, resulting in higher corporate profits.
Arthur Friedman
Newport Beach
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