Showing posts with label minimum wage. Show all posts

18 May 2025

ECONOMICS

THINK about this the next time you start complaining about how much a burger or sub or coffee cost these days.....

30 September 2024

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski got a raise last year & LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR 3APR&14FEB24

I recently spent a lot of time on vacation with relatives and one thing I noticed is complaints by these drumpf / trump-vance supporters is (I am the lone Harris -Walz voter in my family) is the cost of a meal at fast food as well as family restaurants and the amazing wages employees at these restaurants are making, $14,, $15, some even $20+ a hour!!! Nobody seemed to be aware these are not living wages nor did they seem to care. Often the complaining grew to include the rising cost of almost everything, and blame was directed to employees wanting to be paid more for their work. By the by, none of the complaintees indicated they were paid too much for their work. AND non mentioned the wages, benefits, bonuses and perks of the ceos and executive boards of any corporation. This from Restaurant Business and then check out this living wage calculator from MIT

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski got a raise last year

But the fast-food chain’s chief executive, who was recently given the chairman title, still makes less than he did two years ago.By Jonathan Maze on Apr. 03, 2024Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants.

Chris Kempczinski got a raise before he got a new title.

The CEO and now chairman of McDonald’s was paid $19.2 million last year in salary, bonuses and stock, according to federal securities filings.

That was an 8% increase over 2022. But it remained somewhat lower than in 2021, when Kempczinski was paid about $20 million.

The bulk of Kempczinski’s pay package came in the form of stock and option awards, which total about $13 million. He was paid a base salary of $1.4 million and received just over $4 million in incentive compensation—the bonus was about $200,000 less than he received in 2022.

Kempczinski was also paid about $700,000 in “other” compensation, which includes things like life insurance, retirement plan contributions and use of the corporate jet.

McDonald’s is the world’s largest restaurant chain and its CEO is typically among the highest paid executives in the industry. It is also among the most closely watched pay packages on Wall Street, given McDonald’s visibility and labor activists’ push to raise base pay at fast-food restaurants.

Overall, Kempczinski’s total compensation was 1,212 times median employee pay last year, according to the filing.

McDonald’s has enjoyed a strong run of performance coming out of the pandemic, despite a host of concerns such as inflation, the closure of the company’s Russian restaurants and more recently worries about high fast-food prices.

Revenues increased 10% and global same-store sales increased 9% last year, including 8.7% in the U.S.

Kempczinski was named CEO in 2019 following the firing of Steve Easterbrook. He then guided the chain through the pandemic and its aftermath. Same-store sales have increased all but one quarter in the U.S. since he was promoted after leading McDonald’s USA.

WHAT IS THE LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR?
Today, families and individuals working in low-wage jobs make too little income to meet minimum standards of living in their community. We developed the Living Wage Calculator to help individuals, communities, employers, and others estimate the local wage rate that a full-time worker requires to cover the costs of their family’s basic needs where they live. Explore the living wage in your county, metro area, or state for 12 different family types below. The data was last updated on February 14, 2024.

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How Much Does it Take to Cover A Person's Cost of Living in America's Largest Metro Areas?

Diamond Thompson and Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier 04/17/2023

In a recent study, Patrick Villanova of Smart Asset assessed how much a single adult with no children would need to live comfortably in the 25 largest US metro areas. Using data from the MIT Living Wage calculator, Villanova found that St. L...

27 August 2024

Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY from 26 AUG to the election on Tuesday, 5 NOV 2024

THIS sounds like it will be interesting and useful in persuading voters to vote for Harris-Walz. Here's the link to Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY

Exciting news! Today, Patriotic Millionaires, in partnership with Civic Media, is launching a new economic-centered live radio show and podcast. Tune into the first episode TODAY Monday, August 26th at 3pm CT / 4pm ET.

Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY is a 30-minute show airing live statewide in Wisconsin and streaming nationally every weekday, Monday through Friday, through Election Day. As the 2024 election season kicks off in earnest -- and both candidates vie for the all-important working class vote -- join Maggie Daun and the Patriotic Millionaires for a daily deep dive into the one issue that matters most in a capitalist democracy: money. Money, money, money, money, money, money, money.

Maggie and her guest will unpack how the economy has been rigged against working people, what it means in the context of the day's news, and what we can do to fix it. The segment will feature a different guest each day -- including several of our Patriotic Millionaires, economists, and policy experts -- who will give listeners a fresh perspective and deeper understanding of America's rigged economic system and the power they have -- right now -- to fix it.

Click here to tune in to the VERY FIRST episode of Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY featuring Patriotic Millionaires Vice Chair, Stephen Prince, today at 4pm ET to learn when and why $1,000 can be more than $1 million.

TUNE IN

Stephen Prince, born, in his words, “a poor redneck from south Georgia,” became a multi-millionaire after starting National Business Products -- now known as Card Market, Inc. -- a gift card and in-store marketing material production company. The Gift Card Guy, Prince is the Vice Chair of Patriotic Millionaires, fighting to unrig the economy and build a better country for his children and grandchildren. Today, Stephen will explain exactly how the economy left so many behind and why, sometimes, $1,000 is worth more than $1 million.

All this week, Maggie will interview other experts and Patriotic Millionaires at 3pm CT/4pm ET:

Tuesday: Patriotic Millionaire Scott Ellis will explore “How Much is Too Much: Excessive Wealth and the $30 Million Success Project”
Wednesday: Tiffany Muller from End Citizens United will explore why “America Can't Have Both: It’s time to choose Concentrated Wealth or Freedom”
Thursday: University of Massachusetts Professor Bill Lazonick will discuss “How Billionaires Become Billionaires: Predatory Value Extraction and the Truth About Corporations”
Friday: Chuck Collins, heir to the Oscar Meyer fortune, will explain “Why you SHOULD take it personally: How Billionaire Wealth is Ruining YOUR Life”

You can tune in every day on YouTube or Spotify!

It’s time to demand the economy working people in Wisconsin and all across America need. Through our new show, we will break down how to build that economy with a group of millionaires, economists, and policy experts who see how the system is rigged and want to fix it.

Join us today, Monday, August 26th, and every weekday through Election Day at 4pm ET for Maggie and the Millionaires TALK MONEY.

Thank you for everything you do,

-Erica

Erica Payne
Founder and President, Patriotic Millionaires

07 August 2024

BERNIE SANDERS: I don’t usually say that candidates should pay attention to the polls. But, in this instance, Democrats should do just that. 5AUG24

Creator: Kevin Lamarque | Credit: REUTERS

A great post from Sen Bernie Sanders I-VT, it verifies VP Harris has been campaigning for the presidency on the issues Americans are concerned about, and we know Gov Tim Walz as her VP pick is all in on this agenda. We are the Americans who know America is great now and the Harris-Walz administration will make us even greater!

Democrats should run on a progressive economic agenda. Americans are ready
Campaigning on an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working families is a winning formula for Kamala Harris

Bernie Sanders
Mon 5 August 2024

One of the most extraordinary aspects of our corporate-dominated American political system is the degree to which the needs of working-class people, the majority of our population, are systematically ignored by political and media elites.

Americans who are following the 2024 presidential campaign – and the vital campaigns for control of the US Senate and the US House – will see, hear, and read a whole lot of rhetoric from political insiders and the corporate media about the “political game”.

They’ll hear about horserace polls, how much money the candidates raise, what billionaire “donors” are demanding, who the vice-presidential candidate might be, and, of course, the dumb things candidates said or did five years ago. Or 10 years ago. Or 20 years ago.

But, in the midst of all the political gossip on TV and in the newspapers, what Americans will not encounter is a serious discussion of the multiple economic crises facing the 60% of our fellow citizens who live paycheck to paycheck – the working class of this country. What you will not hear about is why, in the richest country in the history of the world, so few have so much while so many have so little. What you will not hear about is the pain, the stress, the anxiety that tens of millions of Americans experience on a daily basis, and how governmental decisions can improve their lives.

In order to combat a political system which ignores so many of the most important concerns facing the majority of our people, my campaign recently commissioned a poll in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It asked some pretty basic questions: what are the major concerns that you and your families have? What would you like your government to do about them?

The results of the poll are not surprising, and not unlike other polls done over the years.

They show that, at the time of huge income and wealth inequality, unprecedented corporate greed, a failing healthcare system, a grossly unfair tax structure, an extremely high rate of childhood poverty, and too many seniors struggling to pay for their basic necessities, the American people want strong governmental action which addresses the longstanding needs of working families.

In other words, it turns out that progressive economic proposals are extremely popular – not only among Democrats but also among independents, Republicans, and even the most ardent Trump supporters.

One of the key findings of the poll is that, on core economic issues, by a wide margin, voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who favors expanding Social Security benefits by making the wealthy pay the same tax rate as the working class. They strongly support a candidate who favors expanding Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing needs, who favors cutting the cost of prescription drugs in half by making sure that Americans pay no more than what they pay in Europe or Canada, and who favors hiking taxes on the rich and multinational corporations so that they pay their fair share.

In other words: campaigning on an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working families is a winning formula for Kamala Harris and Democrats in November. Indeed, it is the formula that could give Harris the sort of victory that sweeps in a Democratic Senate and House and allows her to govern in the best tradition of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Joe Biden’s Build Back Better program.

In fact, whether a candidate is running for the White House or a city council seat, endorsing policies that support working families is not only the right thing to do, it’s good politics.

I don’t usually say that candidates should pay attention to the polls. But, in this instance, Democrats should do just that.

Here are some of the key results. The full poll can be read here.

Swing-state voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports:

Expanding Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing;

77% overall
73% independents
69% Republicans
67% Trump voters

Cutting the cost of prescription drugs in half by making sure that Americans pay no more than what they pay in Europe or Canada;

75% overall
68% independents
68% Republicans
65% Trump voters

Expanding social security benefits by making the wealthy pay the same tax rate as the working class;

72% overall
72% independents
56% Republicans
56% Trump voters

Making the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes;

70% overall
68% independents
54% Republicans
53% Trump voters

Instituting a cap on rent increases;

63% overall
57% independents
46% Republicans
46% Trump voters

Establishing a Medicare for All single-payer healthcare system guaranteeing healthcare to all America;

62% overall
62% independents
39% Republicans
39% Trump voters

Eliminating all medical debt;

62% overall
59% independents
43% Republicans
42% Trump voters

Building at least 2m units of affordable housing;

59% overall
57% independents
38% Republicans
42% Trump voters

Re-establishing the child tax credits;

58% overall
55% independents
43% Republicans
43% Trump voters

Capping the amount of money families spend on childcare at 7% of their income;

54% overall
49% independents
37% Republicans
37% Trump voters

Raising the minimum wage to $17 an hour;

51% overall
49% independents
47% Republicans
42% Trump voters

Making public colleges and universities tuition-free;

50% overall
51% independents
25% Republicans
25% Trump voters

Passing the Pro Act, which would make it easier for Americans to join unions;

48% overall
41% independents
29% Republicans
28% Trump voters

Before you go...

Bernie continues to work hard organizing progressives on the issues important to the working class of this country.

Your individual contributions allow him to keep that work going and reach more and more people. In other words, your support helps us continue to grow our political revolution.

If you support and appreciate that work, please consider making a $27 donation or whatever you can afford today.

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02 March 2021

Walmart 1MAR21

IF you saw the movie ARGO you must remember the saying that was repeated time and again throughout the film. If you never saw it it is "Ah go f^@k yourself'". Every time you shop at walmart or sam's club you "f^@k yourself. I do not shop at walmart or sam's club and I haven't shopped there for over 30 years because I became aware of the walton family's greed a long time ago. They are the main reason America lost so many manufacturing jobs to the prc / china. Because of the volume of product they sell they threatened companies with not carrying their products if they didn't lower their prices for walmart and the only way most of these companies could do that was to move their manufacturing operations to the prc. Please sign the petition by Sen Bernie Sanders I VT to the walton's calling on them to raise the minimum wage for their employee's to $15.00 an hour and I hope you will stop f^@king yourself, stop shopping at walmart and sam's club club until they do. (PLEASE NOTE the goal was to reach 25000 signatures, they are exceeding that so go ahead and sign your name. AND you are counted when you press submit even if you do not make a donation.) Check out the links at the bottom of this post for more on walmart.

At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, with the very rich getting much richer while working families face increased desperation, Walmart and its owners, the Walton family, have become the poster children for corporate greed.

And it is time that we stood up to that greed and the unfettered capitalism which sustains it.

Here is the reality. The Walton family is the wealthiest family in the country and is worth more than $200 billion, which is more than the bottom 40 percent of Americans combined. Yet somehow, they continue to oppose the idea of paying their workers a living wage of $15 an hour. They think the taxpayers in this country should have to subsidize the needs of their low wage workers who are forced to go on food stamps, Medicaid and other forms of public assistance.

This is a family that has made more than $50 billion during the pandemic – yet many of their workers reported going into work without the protective gear they needed during that same pandemic, and few have any paid leave they can use.

This is a family whose eldest son has spent more than $225 million on an antique car collection, including Ferraris, Porches, Maseratis, and a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic that won top prize at the The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award in Paris — yet 55 percent of Walmart’s hourly workers have reported struggling with hunger.

This is a family with another heir to the Walmart fortune, Alice, who has amassed a private art collection worth an estimated $500 million, a $25 million two-floor condo on New York’s Park Avenue with 52 windows overlooking Central Park, and a $22 million 4,400-acre ranch in Texas — yet tens of thousands of Walmart workers are forced to rely on food stamps and public housing in order to survive.

Now, I have never understood how one family could have so much money and feel the desperate need for even more. I would think that with all those cars and homes and cash, they might just be able to raise the wages of their employees to a living wage and still afford to get by.

Because the greed above just scratches the surface of the Walmart family’s pathology.

In 2005, Walmart was forced to settle a child labor law case. That same year, they paid a settlement for denying workers meal breaks.

In 2016, they were found to have used sweatshop labor.

In 2017, they were sued by female employees for discrimination based on gender.

And here is something else you may not know:

The Walmart family — despite all of their wealth — is the largest welfare recipient in the country.

While they make these huge profits, buy their cars, their art, their homes, and more, they pay their workers wages that are so low that Walmart workers need distressing levels of public assistance just to get by.

A 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office found that in Arkansas, where Walmart was founded and has its headquarters, 1,318 workers receive SNAP benefits, which is 3.1 percent of the state’s total SNAP recipients. And another report showed that in 2013, Walmart cost taxpayers more than $6 billion in taxpayer-funded public assistance — and just four years later, for good measure, Walmart gave more than $8 billion in stock buybacks.

This is all possible because of the low wages they pay their workers, and compliments of U.S. taxpayers.

So to the Walton family, I say to you, maybe you cannot understand what it is like to make $11 or $12 an hour in this country, but your workers need a raise. No one can live in dignity working a full-time job at those wages.

Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Costco has raised its minimum wage to $16 an hour.

And it’s time for Walmart to do the right thing as well.

Sign my petition: tell the Walton family that their greed has got to come to end — pay your workers a living wage of at least $15 an hour.

As Americans, we must ask ourselves one fundamental question, and that is whether or not this is the kind of country and economic culture we are comfortable with.

I am not. And I don’t believe you are either.

Thank you for making your voice heard.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

ADD YOUR NAME

Paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders

PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402

WALMART USES TAX CUTS FOR EMPLOYEE BONUSES

The Walmart Heirs Give a Measly Amount to Charity 18SEP14

The senator from Walmart thinks a $10.10 minimum wage is 'too much, too fast' 7FEB14

01 February 2021

PLUTOCRACY IS WHEN....

05 March 2019

Bernie + Warren = ‘one-two punch’ for progressives 1MAR19

YES, we just finished the 2018 midterm elections, the 116th Congress has been in session for about 2 months and more and more reporting is covering the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Considering the corruption, the evil of the drumpf / trump-pence administration and the majority of the republican / gop-greed over people party the Democratic Party has the responsibility to start vetting possible candidates now to make sure there is nothing in their history that would disqualify them to be the Democratic Party candidate to defeat (NOT MY) pres drumpf / trump or whoever the fascist republican / gop party nominates. I contributed to and voted for Sen Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary in Virginia and right now he is my choice for the 2020 election. I have contributed to Sen Warren's election campaigns and can support her if she is the Democratic nominee. From The Hill.....

Bernie + Warren = ‘one-two punch’ for progressives

BY ADAM GREEN, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 03/01/19 10:20 AM EST

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

We're a progressive organization that endorses Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). This week, when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was attacked unfairly, we took a leading role in defending him. Why did we do that? Because we genuinely believe that Warren and Sanders in the race makes both of their candidacies -- and the ultimate nominee -- stronger.

After surveying our nearly 1 million Progressive Change Campaign Committee members for months, and running professional polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, one thing is clear: The conventional wisdom from DC pundits, which says there is a zero-sum “progressive lane,” is wrong.

Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden share many supporters. If former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) jumps in, he'd take support from Biden, Sanders, Warren, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). One Iowa voter told a reporter he is leaning toward Warren, but is “intrigued” by Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Here's a prediction: Warren and Sanders in the debate together will be a one-two punch that draws the national spotlight to their bold systemic solutions to our rigged economy and corrupted democracy – making them both stronger as other candidates rush to embrace their ideas. This will increase their collective share of the vote, turning a "lane" into the full road to victory for a bold progressive champion.

Here is how it will play out. By far, the top factor primary voters care about is defeating Donald Trump. Voters who believe many candidates can win will vote based on a candidate’s worldview. But many others will vote not based on their own preferences, but on their perception of who general election swing voters will support. (I call these “pundit” voters. The Washington Post's Ben Terris similarly describes Pundititis.)

In at least two major ways, Warren and Sanders mutually boost each other’s perceived viability among these “pundit” voters. The first way is agenda setting.

Which issues get the spotlight in the 12 Democratic debates and in the press every day is a game-changing dynamic. For example, in last year’s Texas U.S. Senate race, the “domestic policy debate” between O’Rourke and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz focused almost entirely on illegal immigration, kneeling during the National Anthem, and other wedge issues that pushed a Republican-leaning state to favor Cruz. If the topics were whether we should cut or expand Social Security and veterans’ benefits, or whether to repeal Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy to help students graduate from college without debt, Texas could have a different U.S. senator right now.

The one-two punch of Warren and Sanders on the debate stage will command the spotlight in a way neither could do alone. Neither will be isolated when they propose big ideas. When Warren promises to lead on universal childcare, a wealth tax on ultra-millionaires, or a sweeping anti-corruption proposal, Sanders will agree and help make the case. When Sanders calls for Medicare For All or raising the estate tax on millionaires, Warren will do the same. Other candidates will stampede to agree - or look weak if they don’t.

The net effect will be more air time for Warren, Sanders, and progressive ideas that polls show are overwhelmingly popular with primary and general election voters. As they command the spotlight, look authentic and comfortable in their own skin, and make a persuasive case on issues they have talked about for years, voters will be able to picture them trouncing Trump on a debate stage.

The second way Warren and Sanders mutually boost each other’s perceived viability among “pundit” voters stems directly from the first: By commanding the spotlight and support from other candidates, their ideas will be seen as more mainstream and more viable in the general election.

We’ve seen in many competitive primaries that two candidates can kick off a domino effect, which quickly results in the entire field following suit. At a minimum, risk-averse voters cannot fret about the viability of bold issue positions in the general election when all primary candidates agree.

But more important, when Kamala Harris recently made a strong case for Medicare For All (and even made the case for eliminating private insurance), she became a validator and evangelist for that position. She persuaded people and helped bring along the public. As this dynamic continues, it will make the issues championed by Sanders and Warren look even more mainstream and viable against Trump.

As voting in the early states gets closer, Sanders and Warren will have lifted each other up into the finalist round with one or two others. Voters will then have to choose the best nominee against Trump – who won in 2016 after bashing Wall Street speeches, corporate trade deals, and corruption in D.C. He was lying about his intentions, but he tapped into a very real desire by voters to shake up the system.

That's what Warren and Sanders offer. Not small-bore tweaks. Not insider deals among out-of-touch politicians. Voters want big, bold, systemic change.

We believe Elizabeth Warren will be the most electable Democrat and the best president for America because she is an inspiring progressive woman with a track record of building smart coalitions and defeating the odds – successfully shaking up the system on behalf of working families.

But Sanders shares many of Warren’s core values. His strong entrance into the race puts him atop the crowded Democratic pack -- at least for now.

Either way, for progressives, right now more is more. The one-two punch of Warren and Sanders in the race will be a rising tide that lifts both boats – and lifts bold progressive issues into the center of the debate stage.

Adam Green is Co-Founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee. The PCCC has endorsed Elizabeth Warren for president and raised nearly $2 million in grassroots donations for her two Senate runs combined. The PCCC has also worked with Bernie Sanders for many years.

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