I agree with Mr.Garber. My son has a restaurant on the Gulf Coast and his staff have told him between FEMA, unemployment and all the freebies and handouts they won't work until the pot has run dry. There is such a trememdous lack of workers between people who have left and my previous statement I fear it will take a long time before businesses can get going; and because of these probelms how many businesses will end up leaving?? Very sad situation.

I'm glad there is opportunity for work at whatever cost because there are still individuals in economically dire situations. The public has not been told the entire truth about the disasterous effects of Katrina.

It is easier to sit in a hotel room and let the government take care of you than work. Why work when there are good hearted people and the government paying for your room, board, medical, child care, etc.?
Job, work---You gotta be kidding.

Of course they have to give bonuses. Who can afford to live off minumum wage? Most people who are looking for work can not afford to hop in the car and move.
Sorry but I think that in this case, the first comment is unrealistic and unless you want an America with "Hoovervilles" I suggest that the help continue. Yes, that means Burger King and others who continue to get rich off the backs of the others can open their wallets and help if only for a little while.

people are milking these FEMA campers, food stamps, free hotel rooms and everything else, for what they are worth. Why would a person work if all this was given to them? $6000 sign on bonus at BK...if they were smart they would take that and pay for a education, why not, they have no other bills. When all this free stuff runs out, so many people will be homeless and protesting. They know about the deadlines, make them work or cut them off of all funds when the deadline runs out.

Yes, there are soooooooo many people out of work, but would you go work for minimum wage? Raise the minimum wage rates to realistic levels (but that would be the logical thing to do).

It seems to be a good thing that they are offering these bonuses, but it is likely they will stop at some point. Then the workers will only be making minimum wage. Even in Mississippi I doubt minumum wage is enough to get by. It is a shame but low paying service sector jobs seem to be the only ones availible to a very large segment of the American population. I believe there was a time when these types of jobs were taken by high school kids and new immigrants, but I sense this is changing. To say "a job is a job" is in many ways an oversimplification. In America a job defines who you are to others as well as yourself. The types of jobs that one can be proud to have are dissapearing from our shores!

Where would Mr Graber III have people live? In the parking lot of the Burger King and other fast food restaurants? FEMA is slow in providing temporary housing. Many are still in motels or shelters far away from the MS coast. Insurance companies are not paying claims--homes cannot be rebuilt or repaired. Sen. Trent Lott is suing State Farm.
Both my son and my daughter have been on the coast assisting as recently as last week. I speak from first hand observation. Perhaps Mr. Garber III should think before he posts.
MS people are BEGGING to be able to get back home and to work.

The bonuses make a lot of sense. It's not just enough that you have to work there to stick around (the bonus is a contract & you're bonded by it to stay there for at least a year), you have to deal with living conditions of a town in the midst of rebuilding. So a job isn't just a job, this is more of a life project that someone (especially with kids) will have to endure for sometime before things stabilize. Good luck to them all.

i am an assistant manager for the second oldest fast food chain in the south (do the research and you can easily find out what one) and let me start off by saying this. this bonus program looks good on paper but let me state that it is not as simple as one might think. first off there is probably a clause in it stating you have to work for them a set amount of time to get it, and in that the inventory usage and food cost variables will all factor into this bonus i am sure. if the management does its job in controlling all overhead costs (i.e. repairs to building and equipment lawsuits etc,) then the employees can get the bonus. dont think it is free money. there is always a stipulation and at 5.50 an hour, your not going to get any log term employees unless they are starting at entry level for management anyway. nice try BK.

That's Great. Corparate must do whats neccessary. Now just Imagine a volantary strike, it could do wonders in this country.

Please, they're taking advantage. I'm sure $6000 looks pretty good to those with nothing, however, it won't last long making only $5.50 an hour! Congress needs to raise the minumum wage or live try living on the minimum wage themselves. I think America can do A LOT better than this.

In 2004, the United States' national poverty level for a family of four was estimated around $18,850. An employee working a $5.50 a hour job would earn about $11,000 a year. The signing bonus would barely allow an employee to break out of the national poverty class for one year and does not take into account the additional expenses recovery from Katrina that a family may have.

It's easy for many to say get to work when individuals read a story line such as this, but when a majority of the community no longer has habitable housing, where public infrastructure still is in shambles, and when most of the community has left for good or relocated; I feel that such an attitude is cold-hearted. Economically, how does one rebuild their home, their live, their community, etc., while working full time for minimum wage plus a bonus which can be revoked at any time.

This just shows the catch 22 in the area. In order for you to have a business, you have to have people to work. But because of the devistation many people are not coming back. Therefore, a lot of the workforce is gone. But you also need to have people who are making money to go into businesses and spend it. When those people are not there the business can not continue either. With the loss of whole areas of homes and schools, people don't have a place to stay, businesses don't have a good workforce to build on and the community doesn't have any way to maintain its self.

While I question how much money we should put into a city that has the majority of its' area below sea level, I can not question the need for help for those families that have lost everything and have the insurance companies saying "sorry, not covered for flood."

Those people have, for the most part, tried to make honest livings in what was already hard times.

As someone who has had a long term battle with depresion, I know that what we see from our TV's is only the physical destruction. We need to help these families toward a total recovery. Physical, Financial, and Emotional.

Why are we needing courts to block FEMA from putting people out of hotels when employers can't find enough workers. Some business have been unable to re-open, not due to damage but due to shortages of workers. I live in Lafayette, LA. No damage here and an influx of 30,000 people after Katrina. And yet employers can't fill positions. My employer is about 60 people short and offers great benefits. Drive down any road here with significant business interests on it and you will not be able to keep count of the now hiring signs.

Why then is the federal government and the great people of the U.S. carrying the tab for those who REFUSE to work.

I agree William, and this is from a resident of SE LA. These "out of work" scam artists need to be forced back to work. I tried going to dinner the other night just to be told at Outback I would have to wait 2 hours, and Applebee’s was closed already at 7pm. Instead of a steak dinner I ended up having Chinese.

All I can think of is that the fast-food companies are using another technique to keep people at poverty wages.

who can live and raise a family on $5.50 an hour? If these companies really want employee's that stay, they would offer a living wage.

I lived my entire life, all 51 years of it in Gulfport. All of my family, kids, grandkids and myself moved to Horn Lake, Ms. after Katrina because we all lost our homes. I made a brief trip down to the coast around December 1st. There are still huge amounts of people living in tents, cars and damaged homes. Listen up people!! Tens of thousands of people lost their CARS too. Not only those who's homes were fooded. Trees fell on cars, winds fliped them over. Insurance companies aren't paying claims as they should. It only makes matters worse that the Gulf Coast has the higgest gas prices in the state. There are jobs along the Gulf Coast but it doesn't help if people have no way to back and forth to them. Yes, FEMA did give people $2000. That money was used up quickly for food, gas, ice, clothing and medication. So, please think of the big picture. How would you and your family cope if you lost what they did?

When we see manufacturing jobs offering the same bonuses with higher than min wage being offered by multi-million dollar corp's whose upper managers make a least 1 million dollars annually - we will then see that we are making a difference - to help people off welfare and really giving them sustainable wages to support their families with...

But will we ever see the people of our country treated with the same respect and love for our way of life - this way again - when over seas they will work for pennies per hour?

SRene
ParentsWhoCare.us

It seems somewhat of a dichotomy when BK is offering what is apparently a $6K yearly bonus and contractors, hired under Federal contract, are employing illegal aliens from as far away as NYC and Boston at substantially higher rates

Man...this story and comments disturbe me....everybody has an answer....don't they???

Be carefull what you ask for, a rise in minimum wage has always directly influenced cost of living... ie higher wage, higher grocery bills. As wages increase so do the percentages that companies add to the bottom line of expenses. Elementary business stratagy. I work with someone from that area who has lost everything, he is a hard working man, but his values seem a little lost. He spent some of his FEMA payment on new 20 inch rims for his Caddy. HMMM? I don't think he speaks for everyone though. At least he is working and has gotten off his butt as some of you have put it. Work is hard to find no matter where you live and without transportation almost impossible to find. Those big Corporations might think about donating some of that bonus money to the public transportation systems of that area first to provide better access to not only those who live there but to those who are trying to make the living conditions better.

Do you people really think that fast food is trying to keep people at poverty levels??? Maybe if we all raised our standards we wouldnt have to worry about low paying jobs. I have to hire Hispanics in my restaraunt just to get the job done, because i cant find a caucasian that will get of there duff, and belvieve me that is riches to them so really in esseence we the people of the United States of America are to blame. We have allowed our want for the greatest but not the hard work to get it, ruin our economy so now others are taking our "low paying jobs that bring us to poverty levels" I started fast food at 16..and here i am at 28 making a great living out of it...but did i complain about what i made...nooooooo....i put the pedal to the metal and realized that i can make something for myself if i wanted to. So when i hear of people not being able to find a job i tell them, hey theres a McDonalds right around the corner, go make something of yourself, and be thankful there is anything left for us.Its high time for us to get of our lazy you know whats suck it up and get it done, and stop blaming the whole world for our problems