Final answer:
To compare hourly earnings between two employees, one needs to consider wages and any applicable government benefits or deductions. Using the provided data, one can calculate the effective hourly rate by totaling earnings from work and government benefits, then dividing by hours worked.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine which employee earns more per hour, we should look at the information provided about their earnings and how these are affected by programs or policies. Without explicit graphs to analyze, we can use the provided data to infer the earnings per hour. For example, if an employee's total income is composed of both earnings from work and government benefits, you can calculate their effective hourly wage by adding those two figures and dividing by the number of hours worked.
Regarding the policy that reduces government support by 30 cents for every dollar earned, if Jonathan works 1,500 hours and earns $9,000 from work plus $16,300 in government benefits, his total income is $25,300. To find his effective hourly wage, divide the total income by the number of hours worked, which would be $25,300 / 1,500 hours = $16.87 per hour.
In contrast, for an employee earning a straight wage without government supplements, such as the widget workers receiving $10 per hour, the earnings per hour are directly given and unaffected by additional calculations regarding benefits or reductions. When comparing an employee subject to a program like the one mentioned, it is important to calculate the net gain per hour after the benefit reduction to accurately compare hourly earnings.