Federal contractors employ more low-wage workers than Wal-Mart and Mc Donald’s combined, new study indicates

Federal taxpayers employ more low-wage workers than Wal-Mart and McDonald’s combined, a new study calculates.The report from a public policy organization Demos, set to be released Wednesday, estimates that taxpayer dollars fund nearly 2 million private-sector jobs that pay $24,000 a year — about $12 an hour — or less. Those workers owe their incomes to government contracts, Medicare and Medicaid spending, and federal infrastructure funds, among other public sources. In contrast, Demos estimates that about 1.4 million workers earn that amount or less at Wal-Mart and McDonald’s, which are two of the largest employers of low-wage workers.