I was emailed a link to an interesting article on companies that don't pay very well. The article has an blue chip pedigree- Wall Street Journal and Fox News- but seems to come off as the youngest half-wit brother.
I can't tell what the authors are trying to do. They lists twelve companies, and compare their profits, CEO compensation, gross receipts and average employee pay.
Guess what? Fast food and retail don't pay very well. There were a few surprises; Starbucks is on the list. Starbucks; the darling on the left; the epitome of responsible corporations; the purveyor of employees as partners. Yep. Starbucks is really an evil corporate fatcat. After verbally excoriating Sears because their website proclaims "Our associates are the heart of our company", and then asking them to work Black Friday, Starbucks appears on the Corporate Blackhearts list without a word of comment, except to note that Starbucks does have union employees.
Name a retailer: Target; Sears; K-mart; Wal-Mart. Yep; they're on the list. Name a fast food joint: McDonalds; Wendys; Taco Bell; KFC. Yep; Yep and Yep; all on the list, as well as parent company of Red Lobster and Longhorn.
They also don't break down the salaries into entry-level and career jobs. Face it; most of the jobs on this list are entry level. The 'I-worked-there- will-going-to-school' jobs. Yes they do have career positions in any of these companies, but for the most part their positions are in-work a few years- out to the real job.
And I say that with respect. Our country needs jobs like this; jobs that have a certain amount of responsibility and the ability to train workers on the basics of what work is. Showing up on time; giving a good measure while your there and getting along with others whose company you may or may not enjoy.
Who wants to pay $20 an hour so they can train you to earn a living?
The second point the authors are trying to make is that the CEO's are grossly overpaid. Take Wendy's for example; The CEO made $16,537,725 last year. Sounds like a chunk of change, don't it? But that amount is less that the average beginning Powerball jackpot.
Wendy's also has 168,672 employees. Our overpaid CEO makes less than $100 per employee; $98.05, after rounding. Cut out his salary completely and you can give each employee less than 2 bucks a week. I'm sure they would jump for joy.
And then blow it all on a small tea and a 5 piece nugget. I know that's how I'd spend it.
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