How the Minimum Wage Earner is Like a Big Bank ?

On the Sunday Morning Show recently there was a piece regarding the minimum wage and a story about a divorced mother of two who has worked for McDonalds for 10 years and is still paid the minimum wage with no benefits.  She indicated that she has decided not to take promotions and that she gets assistance for child care.  I wondered about what the real implications are from a couple of points of view.


1)  What is the real value of her total compensation and benefits?
      Child care                   $400 per month
      Health care                 $600 per month
      Food stamps               $400 per month
      Wages                         $1250 per month ($7.25/hr 40 hrs)
      EITC                           $455 per month   (earned income tax credit)
      MINUS                      -$95.63 per month (Social Security/Medicare)

TOTAL      $3,009.37 per month AFTER TAX and assuming NO child support from dad.

Yes the costs are just assumptions and estimates but they do give us an idea as to what the REAL number might be. 

2)  Who pays the Minimum Wage? 
     It seems to me that if we raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour and this family is removed from the welfare roles then people who buy hamburgers from MacDonalds pay the cost.  IF we leave the minimum wage about where it is then ALL taxpayers share the cost.  Myself personally I am in favor of the higher minimum wage since as a vegetarian MacDonalds is not my first choice of eating establishments. 
     However, if ALL institutions who otherwise only pay minimum wage are FORCED to increase it up to $15 per hour then the cost of doing business goes up for ALL businesses using low wage workers.  That is likely to shift the burden from all taxpayers to all consumers of goods and services. 
     One source says that restaurants average 20-25% of wages for hourly employees.  If minimum wage is doubled then, assuming nothing else changes (ha ha), we should all expect an increase in the cost of the hamburger by probably 15-20%.  (The $10 meal now costs $11.50-$12.)

    Freedom was my choosing to walk to work before I was old enough to drive and make $1.10 per hour washing dishes in a restaurant and spending every bit of it on a 1969 Camaro convertible.  We got a raise to $1.40 and I remember it but it still went to the car. 
     Freedom is this divorced mother choosing to forgo promotions to spend more time with her kids. 
     Freedom is MacDonalds right to pay her a wage relative to the value she provides the consumer.   
    
What doesn't seem right about this divorced mother of two's situation is her demanding others to pay for her choices MORE than they already are.  Freedom to choose AND enjoy the consequences--like em or not.  IS IT STARTING TO REMIND YOU OF THE BIG BANK BAIL OUTS YET?