When was the last time you heard someone say, Wow, all these new fast food restaurants are really stimulating our economy! or Look at all the jobs McDonalds has created for us!? The answer to that question is most likely never. When we look at the fast food industry, we almost always view it with a negative outlook. This is because when we see fast food, we think of unhealthy, gross and harmful things. We see one of the major causes of obesity in the world, and we disregard the benefits that these restaurants provide. This research paper is meant to show how the fast food industry needs to thrive in order for our world to thrive. The reason why its necessary for our society to realize the importance of the fast food restaurants is to prevent a decline in the industry, which in turn would prevent a potential serious economic decline due to a lack of stimulus provided by the fast food restaurants. Another benefit that the industry provides is employment. The fast food industry provides a very large number of jobs to our economy, and without them a very significant number of people would become unemployed. The world needs to realize the importance of the fast food industry because of the benefits it provides to the worlds economy and social structure through providing countless jobs and the generation of large amounts of capital. Think about how many people complain about the limited number of jobs in our economy. Now, imagine if all of the fast food restaurants mysteriously disappeared. Now think about how many jobs there are. Significantly less, right? This is the biggest issue that can result from a neglect in the fast food industry. The number of jobs in the economy that are related to fast food is nearly 4,000,000, which accounts for almost 3 percent of the entire labor force. (http://www.statista.com/statistics/196630/number-of-employees-in-us-fast-food-restaurants-since-2002/) This means that if the fast food industry were to be wiped out, the unemployment rate would rise by 3 percent. This would push the current unemployment rate to 9 percent, as high as it was in 2009 during one of the biggest recessions in U.S. history. In other words, a significant decline in the fast food industry could cause a recession for the entire country. There is always the argument that the fast food industry could be replaced by other food service businesses. However, it is unrealistic to think that another industry could rival the size of the current fast food industry, or be created quickly enough so that we wouldnt see the negative effects of the depleting fast food industry. While that unemployment theory might be a little exaggerated, the problems that a decline in the industry could cause are significant, and the lack of jobs is not the only thing that would result from such decline. Keeping the focus on the economy, another way in which the fast food industry is beneficial to our society is through the generation of capital. Basic economics teaches us that spending stimulates the economy and generates capital. In 2000, Americans spent $110 billion on fast food.(Fast Food Nation) This made up over 1% of all spending in America that year, estimating that consumer spending was around $10 trillion. (http://www.bls.gov/cex/csxann00.pdf) If the fast food industry were to shrink, consumer spending would decrease dramatically, and there would be a sizeable economic downturn. The benefits that the fast food industry provides to the U.S. are not solely economic. Another benefit that comes from fast food is the type of jobs the industry provides. Not only do fast food restaurants provide many jobs, but they provide specialty jobs. Most fast food restaurants are very easy to run, and require little maintenance. This means that the jobs they provide are very easy to do, and can be done by almost anyone. This includes special needs persons, seniors, and even high school students looking to acquire some form of income. One main source of workers that fast food restaurants get is from people who are in between jobs, or looking for some extra money. For these people, life is hard, and they are struggling to get by. But by picking up a fast food job as a second job or an interim job, they can continue to feed themselves and their families, and dont have to worry about not having enough money to simply put food on the table. Some may argue that a job in fast food is not enough to provide for a family. The lowest amount a worker in the U.S. can be paid is 7.25 per hour. (http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm) Therefore, if you work an average of 5 hours a day, youre making $253 a month. This is around $36 a day, which if youre taking fast food as a second job or an interim job, should be more than enough to get by. This is only showing the worst possible scenario that can come from working in fast food, as the average fast food worker is paid almost nine dollars ($8.92) an hour, significantly above the minimum wage. (http://ww