Would it be smart for fast-food chains to raise wages?

There's an economic case to be made for providing workers with a living wage

Fast food strike
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Thousands of fast-food workers across the country walked off the job this week to protest for higher wages at restaurants like McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the third such strike this year.

Protesters are asking for $15 an hour — a 66 percent bump from the average $9.02 earned by a fast-food cook — and the right to unionize without retaliation from employers.

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Carmel Lobello is the business editor at TheWeek.com. Previously, she was an editor at DeathandTaxesMag.com.