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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services Jackson County's new health building complete, will serve clients in February Since You Asked: Just follow the signs for winter driving rules Get Up & Go: Dec. 19 App Finder: Top Apple apps of the year Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Stolen iPad foils alleged Central Point burglar Idaho fugitive shot by police in March sentenced to 67 months Emergency services Man suspected of money laundering in Ashland mail-order drug scheme Politics and Elections State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change GMO labeling votes recounted under careful watch in Jackson County Kent Bush: First Amendment doesn’t mean what you think it means Education Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU St. Mary's plays host to youth robotics tournament A lesson in giving Environment Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams Most residents speak against gas pipeline Coalition asks for defense of GMO ban Home Help: Make your new house feel like home State News Uber suspends operations in Portland for 3 months Group challenges timber producer's 'green' label Law officers back home-visit funding Sides 'far apart' in port labor talks Court upholds Clatsop LNG pipeline decision Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting Obituaries Joan E. 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Jackson County's new health building complete, will serve clients in February ... Duck stamps help establish Web foothold ... Our View: Cheers and jeers ... Jackson County's new health building complete, will serve clients in February ... Duck stamps help establish Web foothold ... ANOTHER VIEW Catherine Rampell: Congress' whopper of a mess Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Sep. 8, 2014 @ 12:01 am Posted Sep. 8, 2014 @ 12:01 am » Social News Customers can be so demanding. First they criticized fast-food joints over nutritional content. Now they're getting picky about tax and labor practices. In recent weeks, consumers and commentators have savaged Burger King over its plan to merge with Tim Hortons, a move that appears at least partly motivated by tax avoidance. And on Thursday, Burger King, McDonald's and other quick-service restaurants were the targets of strikes and civil disobedience in 150 cities across the United States as part of a national worker campaign for a $15 hourly wage and the right to bargain collectively. Meanwhile, McDonald's is facing several high-profile lawsuits over whether it should be responsible for the wage theft and other labor law violations allegedly committed by some of its franchisees. The bad press has taken a toll on firms' reputations, with TV pundits arguing for boycotts and consumers unleashing their rage on the chains' Facebook pages. YouGov, a company that tracks views of brands, has found that consumers have reported hearing substantially more negative "buzz" (through advertising, news coverage or word of mouth) about McDonald's and Burger King in recent weeks. Survey respondents have also become increasingly likely to say they would be "embarrassed" to work for the companies. It's unclear whether all this bad PR will translate to lower profits for the firms. True, in July, McDonald's had its worst decline in global same-store sales in over a decade. Yet YouGov's polling still found that about two in five adults reported patronizing a Mickey-D's in the previous month, while one in five went to a Burger King — pretty close to the average rates over the previous 18 months. Maybe consumers will put their money where their mouth is, and maybe they won't. Either way, I'd prefer to see consumers carry more of their ire to the voting booth. When it comes to many of the tax and labor policies driving this bad PR, the firms themselves aren't entirely at fault. I blame Washington, too. On tax policy, Burger King would hardly be the first major corporation to opt for a tax inversion; there have been 35 such cases since 2009, according to S&P Capital IQ's Global Markets Intelligence research team. Why are all these firms engaging in complicated tax dodges like inversions? Because they are responding to the incentives our policymakers have embedded in the tax code and corporate governance law. A byzantine, loophole-riddled, high-statutory-rate tax code encourages companies to construct byzantine, Rube Goldberg-like tax strategies to minimize their tax burdens. Our legislators have created a system in which it's easier to boost profits through tax strategy innovation than actual product innovation, and firms respond accordingly. Regarding labor practices, wage theft is a serious crime that should be punishable by jail time. If McDonald's did indeed commit or encourage labor law violations, as some of its workers allege, it should be held accountable. But I understand why companies such as McDonald's set wages for low-skilled workers at or near the legal minimum, given the race-to-the-bottom nature of the industry. It's hard for companies to unilaterally take on higher labor costs when they face such stiff competition for low-price-point burgers, and when they have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to maximize profits. As with voluntarily paying a higher-than-required tax bill, firms like McDonald's and Burger King might worry that raising wages to appease social critics could put them at risk of shareholder lawsuits. All of which is to say that the main target of consumer and worker agitation should not be the companies, but Congress. It has the power to simplify the tax code so that firms won't invest so many resources in tax avoidance. Congress also has the power to raise the minimum wage from its pitiful level of $7.25 per hour, which would even the playing field for all companies that employ low-wage workers. The CEO of McDonald's, in a talk last May, even acknowledged that the company would "be fine" if Congress raised the federal minimum wage for all firms, and that McDonald's "will support legislation that moves forward." By all means, consumers, vote with your wallets and support businesses that treat their workers well and that you perceive to be economic "patriots." But don't expect these companies to change their practices until Congress makes doing so worth their while. The Washington Post's Catherine Rampell's columns are appearing while Kathleen Parker is on medical leave.   Catherine Rampell's email address is [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter, @crampell. 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