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By Jaeah Lee
Mother Jones, July 14, 2014

Last year, according to a new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the CEOs of America's top 25 restaurant corporations, including McDonald's, Burger King, the Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, and Jack in the Box, took home an average of 721 times the money minimum-wage workers did, and 194 times the take-home pay of the typical American worker in a production or nonsupervisory job. Restaurants and food services employ nearly half of all American workers who earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (or less). ... CEO compensation at America's top restaurant chains has ballooned since 2008, while the annual take of their lowest-paid workers has largely flatlined. ...

Meanwhile, a new study finds that 61 percent of small business owners favor a minimum wage hike to keep pace with cost of living, supporting previous findings on the topic. Some national retail companies, such as Ikea and Gap, have also chosen to raise their starting wage. Likewise wholesale merchandiser Costco, where entry-level employees get $11.50 an hour. "We know it's a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment, and loyalty," CEO Craig Jelinek said in a statement supporting of a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage—to just over $10.

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