 |
||
What would you do with an extra $18,000 in your pocket?
That's the amount of extra cash each and every Burger King employee in America would have received last year if Goldman Sachs (one of the fast-food chain's largest owners) had shared its bailout billions with rank-and-file workers. Instead, Goldman Sachs squandered 6.5 billion of our taxpayer dollars on bonuses for their financial staff. These were some of the highest bonuses on Wall Street! Meanwhile, Burger King workers earn wages averaging just $14,000 a year -- well below the federal poverty line for a family of three.
Goldman Sachs has been having it their way with Burger King workers for too long. It's high time you had it your way with Goldman Sachs. Tell the Wall Street giant how they could have used the $6.5 billion blown on bonuses. We're looking for the most creative, constructive, or comical ideas to curb corporate greed and help fix the financial crisis. We will send all ideas to Goldman Sachs as a reprimand for their wastefulness. The winner of the Have It Your Way with Goldman Sachs contest will have their idea featured in our next video. The contest ends March 3.
Pass this video and contest to your friends and family. Tell them working people all over the country are pushing back against Wall Street excess. Tell them we're joining with SEIU and others to stage demonstrations and hold Goldman Sachs accountable! And tell them it's time to end this era of corporate greed and impunity.
Do you think Goldman Sachs should be forced to give back their bailout money to taxpayers, should they have to raise Burger King workers' wages, explain their spending to the government, or be left alone because they are living the American dream? Vote now in our online poll.
Follow Robert Greenwald on Twitter: www.twitter.com/robertgreenwald
Ellen Kanner: Meatless Monday: Beef -- It's Not What's For Dinner
Dear President Obama, Ahem, a little bailout money, please. Vegetarian organizations need a little financial stimulus in order to advance the issues giving you the...
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
I agree with many of your points regarding the emotions of this bailout and lack of Goverment accounting details on where the proceeds of the bailout where provided. They cannot nor will they ever be able to tell you where the money was spent.(The first bailout)
But your anger is misplaced specific to Burger King.
I must point out that Burger King is 88% owned by small buisness owners/Franchisees. The remaining 12% are owned by Burger King Corporatio
If you are willing to pay higher costs for your meals then by all means lets spread the wealth to everyone. Many of those employed at Burger King are first time workers gaining training and work experience. Other's are part-time employees looking to supplement income.
The business model is to deliver $1.00 products to the consumer while remaining profitable. This model, if changed by Goverment or Unions, will change the business model today and into the future. How much Goverment do you want in your life?
If you are critical and angry then provide a solution to the problem we all face. But your video is biased and inaccurate in many details.
Sachs has no ownership in Burger King.
Don't eat at Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, or any other fast food chain restaurant. They get their beef from cattle that are grazed on clear cut rainforest land -- just so they can buy it cheaply. The more demand for cheap beef, the more rainforest destruction.
And while you're at it, stop eating meat altogether. Just google factory farming and slaughterhouse abuse, and you might never eat meat again.
I do not eat at BK, because I do not like the food or their creepy commercials. Now I am glad that I did not contribute any of my money to G&S.
On the other hand, I am glad to see the media FINALLY exposing companies and their scheming.
Unless something changes, I expect that the conditions created by the recession will keep employees on the short end of the stick. With tens, if not hundreds, of applicants for every available job, there is no incentive to increase salaries, provide benefits or show any loyalty to employees. With a bad economy already biting into business, employers will look to reduce costs wherever they can, labor costs the first to be cut.
This story proves that the idiotic republican conservative ideology of trickle down economics do not work.
I had no idea GS owned BK, but it goes to show that wall streeters are nothing but greedy thieves. To run a successful business, one must put some profits back into it and change with the changing times. BK has not done this.
How much of those billions could have gone to providing health insurance and higher wages for those workers? How much of it could have gone into creating a more healthful but still affordable menu?
This makes me sick every time I read these bailout abuse stories. My small business can't afford to pay me this week. Where's our bailout????
what could a part-time high school student who works at Burger King possibly do that is worth an $18,000 dollar bonus? How many bottom rung BK employees are the sole support for a family of three? Why is their burden the fault of Burger King? Since this person presumably knew of their financial situation why did they volunteer to be the sole support for two more people?
You are making some assumptions. I agree that there are workers as you describe. But don't paint them all with the same brush. As pointed out in the video, there a number of 'bottom rung' employees that are supporting a family and not just a high school kid. With so many manufacturing jobs shipped overseas, there are not a lot of jobs out there, and this has been made worse by the current recession. Pensions have shrank or disappeared so I see a lot of retirees trying to make ends meet. I see a fair number of middle aged folks working in fast food places and I don't think it is their first choice at that stage in their lives. Take a look next time you go in.
The other assumption is that the workers were irresponsible in starting/having a family while at the fast food worker income level. How many of these folks actually had better jobs, were being responsible, but lost their jobs as the economy tanked or their jobs got shipped overseas and now work at Burger King as a last resort?
How many middle aged people have lost their jobs and could only find work at Burger King??? How many seniors have to find work at Burger King to make up for stolen pensions??
Maybe because Goldman Sachs (and other banks) ruined our financial system... some Burger King employees ARE the sole supporters of their families.
The ultimate cause of the present crisis is low wages.
The fact is that since the election of Reagan growth of wages stopped rising along with growth in GDP unlike what had been the pattern since the end of WW2. All the premium in GDP growth in the Reagan era has gone to those at the top. Those at the top actually spend much less in proportion of their income than those at the bottom. A Lambourghini may cost ten times as much as a normal new car but it doesn't employ ten times as many people to make , sell, and repair.
The money they banked has gone to inflate the series of bubbles (dot-com, real estate and stocks) we are now seeing deflate. We are making more stuff than people can buy,thus we are employing fewer people. Cheap credit (including home equity withdrawals) helped cover this up for a while, but that time has ended. A Lambourghini may cost ten times as much as a normal new car but it doesn't employ ten times as many people to make , sell, and repair.
The only thing that can revitalize our consumer based economy is a wage increase in the bottom two income quintiles. That will generate a real boost in spending. The entire economic debate unfortunately seems to be almost a conspiracy of silence about this issue.
Tax the rich, and use the money to make Medicare universal and comprehensive (H.R. 676), so that employers no longer have to bear the burden of health insurance for their employees, and can raise wages and salaries. Cap corporate executive salaries at 50 times bottom-rung full-time worker income and gradually raise the minimum wage to $15.00/hr, tied to inflation.
I don't blame Goldman Sachs executives for keeping the money. The government GAVE them money for failing and didn't give them any provisions. The executives would've been stupid for giving the money to Burger King employees when they could just keep it themselves.
The blame goes to the people who stole the money from taxpayers and gave it to the failed executives. The most notably being George W. Bush and Barack Obama (who voted for it).
yeah, cause O is the ONLY senator who did, right?
i blame hank paulson and george bush. paulson sounded the alarm, and basically 'pulled an iraq' about the financial sector. when that happens, what else should have been done?
the blame goes to the companies who spent this money poorly! would you blame youself if you gave a family member 5 thousand to get back on their feet, and they blew it on pixie sticks and soda pop? cause thats basically what happened..
Jin -
Yes. I would blame myself.
And I mentioned Obama because he happens to be President of the United States and he happens to be acting much more like Bush than anybody is willing to admit.
People who like to talk about Blame, never seem to want to address Responsibility.
A part of me agrees w/ you. I've always been against the bailout... and I do think it's stupid to give someone money.... and then get mad because they don't spend it the way you think they should have.... and then turn around and plan on giving them more money... so you can continue to complain that they aren't using the money right.
On the flip side... it's my opinion that no one in this country should work 40/week and make less than the poverty limit. It just amazes me that someone can have a full time job, work hard and still live in poverty in the so-called "richest country in the world". For that reason.... Goldman Sachs should be called out for paying their Burger King employees slave wages.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
