LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
ART STREIBER
High
Hopes
and Low
Wages
I
N THIS WEEK’S issue,
Saki Knafo looks at
the plight of America’s
working poor through
the eyes of one young man struggling to build a career in the fast
food industry.
Lost in the hubbub of each
month’s job reports is one startling fact, one with major consequences for America’s economic
future: since the Great Recession
officially came to an end, lowerwage jobs have far outnumbered
jobs that allow workers to build
a solid middle-class lifestyle. Joseph Barrera has one of those lowwage jobs. A 22-year-old son of
Ecuadoran immigrants, he works
at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in
Brooklyn, making $7.25 an hour
while living rent-free in his uncle’s basement. Like many fast
food workers, Joseph started as a
cashier. After a time, he was promoted to shift supervisor, bringing him more responsibilities, but
HUFFINGTON
05.12.13
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