Dignity by William Finnegan

 

           “Dignity” by William Finnegan gives a clear and better perspective to a reader to understand in depth why Fast Food is political. The article presents a lot of cases which directly link Fast Food to politics; however, one of the main ones which clearly stood out to me was the Labor Activism. At first, The Service Employees International Union, the second-largest union in the United States, was quietly funding the fast-food campaign which was initially sparked by Arisleyda Tapia, a single mother with a five-year-old daughter and a former McDonald’s employee, and her co-workers. The purpose of the movement was the demand to increase the minimum wage. Initially, the demand to increase the minimum wage was thought to be something that only the employees of McDonald’s or any other Fast Food franchises would want; however, a recent study states that 52 percent of fast-food workers are enrolled in, or have their families enrolled in, one or more public assistance programs such as SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). That’s being said; the amount of support to those people who work for low wages exceeds the total sum of $ 7 billion and certainly government distinctly relies on its tax payers to cover up the gap. That’s it why the protest was not only supported by the employees, but also by general public and by politicians. President Obama renewed a long-neglected pledge to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10, in 2014. Even though he did not quite succeed, it was a big step towards supporting the objectives of the movement and taking under consideration its demands. It’s not only the wages and the public assistance programs that connect Fast Food and politics but also it is the marketing of Fast Food to the younger generation. Statistics show that 1 in 3 children in the US is overweight and marketing Fast Food is one of the main reasons why the country is currently encountering the obesity and other health issues. “Each year they, Fast Food franchises, spend $2 billion on marketing food to kids and the vast majority of that is junk food.” says Juliet Sims, one of the consumer groups leading this political food fight with the Prevention Institute. Thus, it is believed that government should make certain policies that would decrease the negative impacts of major companies such as McDonald’s and other Fast Food franchises that have a tremendous impact on both our economy and society.