Tuesday, December 2, 2014 |
Sacramento, CA
It seems counter intuitive, but many people in the American workforce rely on food banks and government assistance to feed their families. In the fast food sector alone, researchers at Berkeley say taxpayers are spending nearly $1 billion a year in food stamp benefits for workers earning the minimum wage or close to it. And that’s just a portion of all American workers earning minimum wage.
Liberal politicians and worker’s rights advocates say raising the minimum wage will prevent minimum wage earners from looking to outside help for food. But opponents say raising the minimum wage will hurt small businesses and drive employment down as the nation struggles to exit the recession. Sacramento-based freelance journalist and author Sasha Abramsky, is following the nation’s minimum wage debate and has spoken to many workers earning minimum wage who rely on the government for food assistance. He joins us for a discussion about food security for minimum wage workers ahead of Capital Public Radio’s latest documentary, “Hidden Hunger.”
“Hidden Hunger” airs Friday, December 5 in place of “Insight.”
LINKS:
Fast Food Poverty Wages
