Let’s face it, some people are just out of touch. In a world of content creation and constant consumption, it’s hard to keep up with the times. That said, every now and again someone displays ignorance so confidently that they nearly convince you.
Fox News host Jesse Watters was a guest on the PBD Podcast recently and made the bold assertion that the average person who works in fast food can earn up to $100,000 a year. Not only was he categorically wrong, he was confidently wrong.
Watters wields wrongness like Excalibur. Without context, the clip begins with him saying, “If you’re making $20 an hour to work at a fast food restaurant, right? Is that six figures? Are you making six figures?" The host of the podcast, Patrick Bet-David, immediately attempted to correct Watters, to no avail. Pressing the issue, Watters continued, “Okay, so 40k a year. And then if your husband or wife is also there, you’re making $100,000 as a family. Both working at McDonalds? That is—okay, that’s crazy. That is crazy, because that job doesn’t require much. So it’s inflating the entire, you know, labor sector and the Happy Meal, which I’m very unhappy about.”
Granted, the last part was said jokingly, but let’s examine the first half. Watters is the host of Fox New’s most-watched show, yet doesn’t know that $20/hr does not add up to $100,000 a year. If you work full time (40 hours/wk) and make $20/hr that equals $800/wk and $3,200/m, which comes out to be $38,400/yr. That’s gross and does not take into consideration taxes and life expenses. Watters was so far off the mark that only divine intervention could’ve fixed his arrogant trajectory.
Let’s dive even deeper. In California, employers take out a 6.2% Social Security tax and a 1.45% Medicare tax, per Smart Asset. That turns $3,200/m into $2,955.20/m. Though it varies considerably, according to RentCafe, the average cost of an apartment in California is $1,837 — that leaves you with $1,118.2/m. Now let’s look at monthly expenses. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the average Californian spends $322.08 each month on groceries (via SoFi), bringing you to $796.12/m. Besides being far from $100,000/yr, the most overlooked fact is that not every fast food worker in California makes $20/hr.
What was Watters' $20/hr commentary even based off of? Last fall, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law mandating that fast food chains with 60 or more locations across the country must pay their workers a minimum of $20 per hour. This raises the wages for California's 553,000 fast food workers above the state's general minimum wage of $16 per hour for other industries.
