Monday, December 06, 2004
Fast Food Low-Wage Republicans
The other day, someone on my Democracy For America list sent me a link for Choose the Blue, a nifty little site where you can type in a product or company name, find out where their donations went during the last election (Bush vs. Kerry) so you can decide of that's where you want to send your money. Timely, considering the season.
Jen over at Good Intentions was kind enough to do a little checking for us (seems she likes her fast food) and came up with these figures:
She does mention that Arby's gave 100% to the Dems, so if you're going to fix your trans-fat jones, you ought to do it at Arby's (I gotta' say the Roast Beef Jr. is a GREAT hangover killer).
So why are these fast food companies tilting so far towards the Republicans? I think that it's primarilly because Republicans oppose all "Livable Wage" initiatives or minimum-wage increases. Republicans oppose unions. Republicans oppose mandating businesses providing healthcare and child care benefits. Republicans oppose stringent OSHA requirements.
Sure, Republicans also oppose regulations on food quality and Tort Reform so there would be limits on how much you could sue if say, your kid died from eating an E Coli tainted whopper, stuff that effects you, the consumer. But I think their support is mainly due to low-wage issues so that they can continue to operate on what is essentially slave labor.
A few years ago in Colorado Springs, a young single mother was convicted for leaving her infant in the car (the child died) while she worked her shift at McDonald's. The local press was quick to jump on the tragedy of a negligent mother but completely missed the point that she had no child care options (turns out her sitter backed out at the last moment). I'm not defending the mother's extreme poor judgement - I would have told McDonald's "fuck you, I can't come in, I can't get anyone to care for my kid" but it's just another example of the contradictions furthered by low-wage Republicans (and Welfare Reform Democrats). "Get off the dole, get a job, ANY job, and too bad if your child care basically eats up your paycheck, we just want you to WORK, you fat welfare queen!".
Punishing single mothers by consigning them to poverty hardly seems "compassionate". If your fat ass craves a Whopper or a Big Mac or faux-Mexican food, you might want to consider what kind of system you're supporting.
Jen over at Good Intentions was kind enough to do a little checking for us (seems she likes her fast food) and came up with these figures:
- Wendy's - 90% in 2004, 92% in 2002
- McDonald's - 94% in 2004, 86% in 2002
- Burger King - 67% in 2004, 24% in 2002
- TacoBell, KFC, PizzaHut - 78% in 2004, 70% in 2002
- WaffleHouse - 100% in 2004, 100% in 2000
She does mention that Arby's gave 100% to the Dems, so if you're going to fix your trans-fat jones, you ought to do it at Arby's (I gotta' say the Roast Beef Jr. is a GREAT hangover killer).
So why are these fast food companies tilting so far towards the Republicans? I think that it's primarilly because Republicans oppose all "Livable Wage" initiatives or minimum-wage increases. Republicans oppose unions. Republicans oppose mandating businesses providing healthcare and child care benefits. Republicans oppose stringent OSHA requirements.
Sure, Republicans also oppose regulations on food quality and Tort Reform so there would be limits on how much you could sue if say, your kid died from eating an E Coli tainted whopper, stuff that effects you, the consumer. But I think their support is mainly due to low-wage issues so that they can continue to operate on what is essentially slave labor.
A few years ago in Colorado Springs, a young single mother was convicted for leaving her infant in the car (the child died) while she worked her shift at McDonald's. The local press was quick to jump on the tragedy of a negligent mother but completely missed the point that she had no child care options (turns out her sitter backed out at the last moment). I'm not defending the mother's extreme poor judgement - I would have told McDonald's "fuck you, I can't come in, I can't get anyone to care for my kid" but it's just another example of the contradictions furthered by low-wage Republicans (and Welfare Reform Democrats). "Get off the dole, get a job, ANY job, and too bad if your child care basically eats up your paycheck, we just want you to WORK, you fat welfare queen!".
Punishing single mothers by consigning them to poverty hardly seems "compassionate". If your fat ass craves a Whopper or a Big Mac or faux-Mexican food, you might want to consider what kind of system you're supporting.
