A STORY OF BURGER GLUTTONY!

A STORY OF BURGER GLUTTONY!

(McDonald’s Publication, Esther Addley, Louis Eccles)

(Fault Line Watch, Sam Black, Al Jazeera, Marisa Taylor, Spencer Platt)

(Getty Images, Mike Konczal, Rachel Tepper, Latvja Restorani, Frazer Chronicle)

Everybody loves an underdog, and this sure is a story of an underdog, even though there are more than 1.8 million of them…..all working for one corporation. The story is an example of how corporate America works, also a story and a study of good old American ingenuity and how capitalism works…..this time in the fast food industry.

It started with an innocent phone conversation to a McDonald’s employee helpline, which was (oh, oh,) recorded. During the course of the conversation, McDonalds suggests that the employee should seek federal benefits that would enable the worker to make ends meet, in this particular case, food stamps would be the cure for the employee’s distress.

There’s a whole bunch of different things that are wrong with the United States, however in many, many instances, the thread that binds is a bottom line mentality of corporate financial gains. McDonalds is no different than Wal-Mart, J.C. Penny, or the Ma and Pa store down the street from my house, everybody has a bottom line.

The idea that corporations like McDonalds and Wal-Mart as well as a Ma and Pa corner grocery store share the same bottom line mentality might at a quick glance seem not to be true would be a mistake. Of course the difference is the number of dollars that would be involved, billions for a McDonalds or Wal-Mart corporation, and thousands for the Ma and Pa corner store.

Pete and Mary’s corner grocery has three employees, and they might need federal assistance the same as thousands upon thousands of McDonald or Wal-Mart employees, the difference of course is numbers, try billions. However all three enterprises share equally in the blame that is becoming a burgeoning problem for the U.S. taxpayer.

LET’S SEE, I GET PAID, I PAY IN, I PAY EXTRA, AND I PAY OUT

Does this situation sound confusing, well ya, whenever numbers are fudged, invariably the clouds of doubt, of jumping to conclusions, and finger pointing come into play. People work for a living, they pay taxes, then there always seems to some sort of new little tax we are required to pay…..and then whenever there doesn’t seem to be enough money for some other poor schmuck…..we are expected to pay again.

Sound confusing, absolutely, here’s in a nutshell what is going on when big corporations like McDonalds game the system. They first and foremost pay a minimum wage, one that isn’t capable of sustaining even the barest necessitates of life. These corporations then figure out the best way to squeeze the system which is us, to help subsidize their payroll. In the end, as honest taxpayers we pay, and we pay and we pay.

These corporations, in this case McDonalds actually kind of make a joke of their help department, it’s called  McResource. They have absolutely no shame, when the employee asks if the conversation could be recorded, the McDonald’s McRepresentative said she didn’t mind at all.

The McDonald’s representative offered to connect the employee with a number of federal benefit programs for which the employee might be eligible, including Medicaid, a medical care program for low-income adults and their kids. And the bottom line with regards to McDonald’s McResource line, only those franchises that pay a fee to McDonald’s corporate headquarters are eligible to use the McResource!

Of course the biggest problem is the fact that McDonalds simply refuse to pay and living wage, the concept goes directly against the grain of what corporate American is all about…..board rooms, suited men and women who sit by the hour devising ways to take advantage of every situation that is possible to them.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

The middle class factory worker with a high school diploma has pretty much been obliterated from the work-place and replaced by the fast food worker. The educational skills and work ethic are basically the same, but the compensation is not the same.

Most people today don’t look at fast food employees as full time, but many are, most people figure that fast food employees are high school or college kids, but many aren’t, they are in their 30’s, 40’s 50’s and even their 60’s.

What with the economy and the shape it’s been in, corporate America has taken advantage of the older work force, and actively recruited these people to fill positions that used to be reserved for kids only. Go through the drive-through some time, pay attention, there’s older workers manning the pay window as well as the food reception window.

Of course you have the bozo who talks about people working in low paying restaurant jobs for either minimum wages, or that tip wage of like $2.15 plus tips. According to these people, and their idiotic way of looking at things, these low paying positions can be a stepping stone to a better job at a different place of employment.

I call these people bubble people they have little or no clue, vote straight political tickets, and thank God every day for their jobs. Upward mobility in America is at a virtual standstill, corporations today look for ways to cut wages as well as positions, not the other way around.

Besides no upward mobility, many employees are expected to come early, stay late, and not be paid for the additional time. There’s even a name for this practice, stolen wages, and it’s an issue that has been in the work-place for years.

I used to drive a semi-trailer, and was paid by the mile…..except when I drove my rig from the depot to drop an empty trailer, and hook a full one for delivery. The distance was around 50 miles, but I never got a penny for the extra miles, $12.50, a trip, or $25.00 a week, or $1,300.00 a year.

McDonalds has, today, more than 34,000 locations worldwide with revenues approaching $27.56 billion dollars, assets reaching more than $35 billion, and are responsible for employment to more than 1.8 million.

I wonder…..with all the income that is listed in their corporate end of year reports how many McCars corporate has in their fleet? And I wonder how many golden shower curtains Chairman Andrew J. McKenna and President Don Thompson have in their homes…..and for that matter, how many houses they own between them.

HAVE A NICE DAY!