Written by: Nazir. S.
The Coronavirus pandemic has put the majority of the country in a full lockdown effect as the virus continues to spread throughout the country. With that being said, as some people are still out and doing their jobs due to their job being essential, there are many problems with the pay the fast-food restaurant may be receiving. Us citizens of the U.S. use cards and cash to pay for things, and we are so used to this that we do not realize the germs that can be spread by doing so. Paying in cash is a more dangerous way of the virus spreading as it is not just airborne, but also can be spread by contact. Now you may be wondering how this affects the economy at all. The more germs spread through the payment of cash, the more people get sick, which leads to fewer jobs and fewer fundings throughout the companies. Ultimately looking at a recession to occur with all the germ spreading.
While there is not a way to sanitize cash, there is an obvious multitude of solutions to this. Restaurants should clearly wear gloves, and wash their hands at all times, but also should change their pay system to cards only as it could prevent more germs from spreading. Workers are afraid that they are spreading the virus with paper cash, but if the pay is virtually submitted, there is a less chance of the germs and the virus spreading. It is not only receiving the cash that is bothering the workers but opening the register, putting money in and taking it out is what they are mainly worried about. The continuation of fast-food restaurants is a liability as it can spread the virus quicker, in more ways than people may think.
Workers are also being put to fewer hours working. The wages are going down as the pandemic takes place. Changing in this demand for goods and services, with the size of the population and the minimum wage rate can have a substantial impact on the economy. The cause of unemployment and downward in wages is speaking on a recession, but we are not in that obviously. The workers have fewer hours and fewer wage rates which obviously no one loves. On the brighter side, other essential stores are boosting the wage rate as they are looking for more workers to help society with their supplies and needs.
Overall, the virus has truly impacted our economy with the likes of essential stores whether it is positively, or negatively. Germs spreading, wage increase/decrease, fewer hours, and fewer workers are making a huge impact as this social distancing is being practiced.
Works Cited
Pettinger, Tejvan, et al. “Reasons for Falling Wages.” Economics Help, 22 Jan. 2018, www.economicshelp.org/blog/24597/labour-markets/reasons-for-falling-wages/.Taylor, Kate. “'If That Disease Is Anywhere, It's in That Cash Drawer': Workers Are Begging Customers Not to Pay in Cash at Fast-Food Chains like McDonald's and Starbucks.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 20 Mar. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/cash-sparks-coronavirus-concerns-as-fast-food-chains-remain-open-2020-3.
Winant, Gabriel. “How the American Economy Conspires to Keep Wages down | Gabriel Winant.”
The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 13 Apr. 2018, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/13/american-economy-wage-suppression-how-it-works.
Interesting post, it's sad that all of those places are tanking because of the pandemic. If anything the federal reserve should do something where they sanitize bills and coins. It would take awhile, but in the end it should be able to lower the risks by at least cleaning them every time they come back through.
ReplyDeleteI found this very interesting because I get why fast food workers are afraid and how they could spread the virus via money. It is very difficult to be able to clean money but new ways are being proposed while people have the time. I think there will be a way to get money cleaned in a efficient way.
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