The company also relies heavily on low-wage employees - nursing assistants - to provide care.

Even the providers of service jobs, like hotel owners, who can not move their workplaces, respond in ways that will hurt low-wage employees.

Their low-wage employees are eligible for the same kind of assistance on their premiums and copayments as anybody else.

But Mr. Clinton will propose subsidies to reduce the burden on poor people and on companies with many low-wage employees.

There are other sources of assistance: Florida has established a nationally recognized child-care partnership program that encourages businesses to help low-wage employees with child care.

These workers represent a large share of the nation's low-wage employees.

That could unite families, recruit skilled workers and protect the nation's low-wage employees.

And several thousand dollars of income could be exempt from the tax so employers would pay little or nothing for low-wage employees.

Thanks to food stamps, a low-wage employee can accept less.

There are other, more direct ways of keeping low-wage employees in their place.