Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can't justify the expense," one customer says

[dalton99a]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mcdonalds-price-increases-fast-food-cost-popeyes-wendys/

Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can't justify the expense," one customer says
By Khristopher J. Brooks
Updated on: May 9, 2024 / 2:03 PM EDT / CBS News

...

Fast-food prices have shot up over the last decade, according to FinanceBuzz. The personal finance site found that the price of a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal from McDonald's more than doubled in price from $5.39 in 2014 to $11.99 this year.

Other restaurant chains also have jacked up their prices, FinanceBuzz said. Between 2014 and 2024, Popeye's, Jimmy John's and Subway hiked their food prices 86%, 62% and 39%, respectively. The price of a two-piece chicken combo at Popeyes jumped from $6.49 to $11.39 over that period, while an eight-inch club tuna from Jimmy Johns rose from $5.75 to $9.10, according to FinanceBuzz.

Restaurant chains point to rising labor costs as a key factor driving up prices. Across the U.S., 22 states raised their minimum wages in January, although the federal baseline pay remains stuck at $7.25 an hour. In California, fast-food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide are now required to pay their workers a minimum wage of $20 an hour following passage of a new law last fall.

Labor advocates dispute that rising employee wages are to blame for higher fast-food costs. A March analysis of California fast-food restaurants by the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, noted the industry's record profit margins.

"Our analysis of financial data for the past decade finds increases in fast-food industry operating profits and rising markups, suggesting that affected employers can absorb the increased operating costs associated with a higher industry minimum wage without increasing consumer prices or reducing employment," the report states.

...

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https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/business/mcdonalds-prices/index.html

$3 for a single McDonald’s hash brown? Customers are fed up and pushing back
By Allison Morrow, CNN
Updated 5:00 PM EST, Wed February 7, 2024

...

At the core of those widely shared sticker-shock moments is a genuine angst over the cost of basic needs like food — especially food that’s meant to be affordable.

On TikTok, it’s a common refrain for McDonald’s customers to say the company has gone too far, charging more than $3 for a single hash brown in some locations.

“Who told y’all y’all was that good to be charging that much for your food?” quips one user in a TikTok video titled “McDonald’s has gotten too cocky.”

Other popular videos call out the audacity of a medium French fry costing roughly as much as a Filet-o-Fish.

...

[mucifer]

1. It's amazing that this is happening despite all of the food

subsidies for meat and dairy products.

These fast food companies are not good for health, workers or the animals that people eat.

[getagrip_already]

2. I wonder if there is now a market opportunity for a new competitor....

A new burger/chicken sandwich chain with fast food and cheap prices.

No frills but basic food.

The old model. There seems to be a screaming market for it.

[Irish_Dem]

10. This is what I am thinking too.

Basic fast food at decent prices.

[haele]

21. A few fast food restaurants do that. They tend to be smaller and family run.

Here in California, it's In-n-Out. But then, they limit their menus to the basics and they aren't beholden to investors. They raised their prices some, so a "meal deal" costs maybe a dollar, dollar-fifty more per person than it did five years ago, keeping up with inflation. They also always paid their labor more, had more full time employees, promoted from within, and provided scholarships and benefits.
Fosters Freeze, another California smaller fast food place, only really upped their shake prices; they still have a damn good (and huge) classic American burger for around $6, up $1 from 3 years ago. But for the money you spend, you get a large sized meal that honestly can be shared by two people, which Laz and I do when we go to the local one for "Teen style Date night". Including the large, chunky chocolate cherry or nutter butter malted (two straws, please!), dinner for two typically ends up around $15. Not bad for any restaurant.

I think Dicks up in Seattle operates much the same as In-n-Out; and they've been reasonably profitable and locally active for around 60/70 years.

It can be done. But typically by the smaller, family or privately owned franchises.

Haele

[RockRaven]

3. The whole "they raised the minimum wage, that's why our prices doubled"

thing does not make sense to me at first glance given that 2-3 years ago a McDonald's near me had signs in the window advertising a starting wage of $20+/hr. They had lower prices and plenty of business while also paying this supposedly ruinous wage because that's what the local labor market demanded.

So then you look into it...
Record industry profits? Yep.
And what fraction of their costs is labor? Oh...
And they've raised prices during the period when the media was constantly crying "ZOMG! inflation!" Uh huh...

[dalton99a]

4. +1. The food and restaurant industry is gouging Americans in a deliberate, systematic fashion

[Irish_Dem]

12. They're just making excuses.

Last edited Sun May 12, 2024, 02:58 PM - Edit history (1)

It doesn’t cost them $3 to make a soda fountain drink

[LiberalFighter]

48. When I did go to a fast food

I never ordered a drink. Took it home and took the beverage out of the fridge.

When I went to work I never bought soda or snacks from the vending machine.

[Irish_Dem]

60. The only thing I like in fast food is a McD coke from their fountain.

Best Coca Cola on the planet.

The food is of no interest.

But you are smart in terms of health and budget.
Skip the drink from fast food places.

[NanaCat]

69. You drink the sodas at Mickey Ds?

Really?

The machines are filthy because the maintenance is slipshod, at best, and non-existent at worst, and that applies to 99 outlets out of 100. You would be shocked at how many diseases are festering in fast food soda fountains, McD's or not.

Unless you know for a fact that a fast food manager is at least borderline OCD, never drink fountain drinks. Get the bottled drinks. They're the safest options available.

Same is true of convenience stores, too.

You're asking for trouble drinking fountain drinks far more often than not.

[Irish_Dem]

70. I only just read about the unsanitary fountain conditions at McD.

I rarely get a drink any more at McD's.
Trying to cut down on my sugar intake.

Nonetheless McD's is the best coca cola on the planet.
Nothing else compares.

Second best is coke in the little glass bottles.

But alas I am drinking water and homemade fruit smoothies these days.

[LeftInTX]

78. I realized that in college. Our OJ was always fermented.

The only thing I get from dispensers is water. I assume it's dirty too.

As a kid, I got horrific food poisoning from a drink dispenser.

Hubby worked in food service in at a military base and college campus and confirmed.

[Irish_Dem]

80. Now I am wondering if the dirt is why the McD fountain coke is so damn good.

Perfect blend of flavor and carbonation.

I am a very picky eater and it is something for me to give any food high praise.

Such a shame.
I had no idea.

[Big Blue Marble]

88. The best Cokes were the ones saved at the mid-century fountains

at your local food counters. The syrup was freshly mixed with carbonated water
and served with a straw in a tall glass. No coke of today compares.

PS I no longer drink Coke or other soft drinks but the memory lingers on..

[Irish_Dem]

89. I wish I could have tasted that!

I bet it was amazing.

[Big Blue Marble]

90. It truly was.

It was just the right blend of syrup and fizz.

[Irish_Dem]

91. I like the fizz that burns the throat a bit.

McDonald's fountain is the only one that does that.

[Big Blue Marble]

92. Yes, that tingle.

When one really appreciates the bubbles, you never use ice especially
ice chips that dilute the drink and weaken the fizz.

[Irish_Dem]

99. Ah, another true Coca Cola aficionado.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

94. The actual cost of a fountain drink

Is 3 cents.
Years ago Mc D charged you for each cup of soda.

The actual cost of soda gets outed to the public and there was an outcry and McD’s offered free refills on drinks. Seems like that memory has faded because some fast food places are back to charging per cup for soda.
It’s like 2 bucks and change now for a large.

[anciano]

5. Poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle

are two of the main reasons that over 40% of US adults are now suffering from obesity and other preventable health maladies.
"You are what you eat" is more than just a catchy little phrase.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

95. I would argue it's sugar

Sugar is in everything and people didn’t see as much obesity until sugar consumption went nuts. I blame the corn syrup fructose and sugar lobbies.

I lost a crapload of weight when I quit sugar and I didn’t change my activity level at all.

[Tribetime]

6. Don't buy fast foods

[Sky Jewels]

100. That stuff is poison anyway.

I often go years and years without setting foot in a fast food joint. The only time we stop is if we're on a long road trip and get a craving for French fries. But generally I try to stay away from fried food. I always feel horrible after I eat it. The grease is just too much.

[TxGuitar]

7. Hasn't a lot of stuff doubled

Since 2014? Our house has more than doubled in that time.

[Traildogbob]

36. Always has

My Sat TV has increased $100 for same package after 10 years.
My Taxes on my home increases every year (now to fund Christian Schools)
My road maintenance for the Property owners association from $125 to $350 annually in 10 years. Not any more roads, and snow removal is rare, no snow.
I remember a Coke in A bottle with a bag of peanuts under a dollar.
All my insurance, health, home, dental and Life, every damn year goes
I remember a phone would not break you.
I remember coffee with refills at a diner was 25 cents.
I remember a new car, under 10 grand.
I remember a brick house for under $40,000
Groceries have always gone up year after year.
I remember an once of weed was $20
And not one damn bit of it was Biden’s fought.
Maybe the fast food bunch need to stop adding a pound of bacon, tons of cheese and French fries stacked on their triple patty burger.
Wait till ya see what a heart attack costs you.
A loaf of healthy bread and a jar of organic peanut butter is a steal at under $10 and can make long for a week.
Damn all the bitching. Thanks Joe, it’s all on you.
But trump will fox it all, right?

[LiberalFighter]

50. You must be a bit older than me

[Traildogbob]

67. Not " Whole" lot

A teen in Late 6O’s. But $20 could get you 20 to life.

[NanaCat]

72. Prices never stay static.

So all those things you mention add nothing to the argument because prices were never going to lock in forever at 1974 levels. They just weren't. Besides, when you adjust for inflation with several items on your list, they're actually cheaper now than they were in whatever year you're judging things by. Gasoline, for instance, is routinely cheaper after taking into account inflation. So are household appliances. Cell phones and their plans are outright cheaper *without* inflation than they were in the 90s and 2000s.

Really.

The problem this time is that some prices are spiking far in excess of normal inflation.

[haele]

8. It's all about increasing the profit margin for shareholders. Not about running a business.

Quality of product - pfft. Customer satisfaction - who cares?
But shareholders expect to see a continuing minimum increase in return, so cut as many costs as they legally can and jack those prices up and increase profits until they price themselves out of customers.
Sorry to insult those with business degrees, but Chicago School MBAs will be the death of any sort of viable long term Capitalism.
Their knee-jerk blind avoidance of any whiff of Social considerations, turning of any sort of economy into commodities, and dedication to a "free market" without consequence leads to selfishly monopolistic, winner take all policies despite supposed benefits to consumer and "innovation" a free market is supposed to bring.
Chicago School MBAs love Adam Smith until he starts talking about the importance of regulation and social responsibilities. Like teenages from wealthy families, they're Calvinists at heart; making wealth is an entitlement of the wealthy, who are supposed to be in charge of everything anyway. If one loses or doesn't have wealth, it's because they aren't worthy of having it.

Just my observation.
(Yes, I'm a Keynesian - balance and regulate economies to ensure Capitalism can provide both innovation and social opportunities across an entire economy, not just an aggressive few)

Haele

[iluvtennis]

41. It's simply corporate GREED! n/t

[Attilatheblond]

58. That & corporate 'donations' to GOP without any FEC paperwork

Fewer & fewer corporations owning more & more businesses = less competition/more profits. Wanting GOP in charge = hoping for lower taxes & less regulation.

Raising prices beyond what is justified = making life harder for Biden while increasing corporate profits.They know at least 1/3 of the voting public is not smart enough to see what is actually happening, so they know a lot of voters will blame Biden for inflation. All part of the plan, and it gets around campaign donation limits.

[Rebl2]

9. May be

for the best. Fast food not great for a person in most cases.
My Mom made healthy meals for us the majority of the time. She always amazed me how she would make dinner (sometimes the day before) worked at a bank for many years until retirement. I helped where I could considering my arthritis. My main job in the home was dusting and keeping my room clean. Love and miss you Mom.

[NanaCat]

74. Much as she annoys me

I can say that my Mum amazed me with how she could spend 10 hours in surgery most days, but still manage to cook the family dinner when she got home, anyway. I know she was exhausted--you could see that she was dead on her feet after being on them so long, already.

Why I didn't complain when she had me do prep work for her as an after-school chore, once I reached learning-to-cook age. I knew what a huge relief it was for her to be able to get right to cooking as soon as she shed the work persona (and surgery scrubs), rather than wanking about with prep work, too.

[OnDoutside]

11. I haven't eaten at McDonald's in a year, and the price

made me think about the quality, when I could have a gourmet burger for around the same price but without the fries. It's a better experience.

[Irish_Dem]

13. I ate at a McD's about four years ago.

I was shocked at how bad the hamburger was. I ate a couple of bites and threw it away.

[OnDoutside]

22. Yes, I agree, and it can't be a coincidence that there

are a lot of new independent burger joints (here in Ireland anyway) happily completing with a far better product

[Irish_Dem]

37. Yes McD's needed to be knocked from its perch.

Others saw a need for competition against them.

You can get a much better burger elsewhere.

[FakeNoose]

14. The cost of food in general has increased shockingly

It's not just restaurant food, it's everything in grocery stores too. There's hardly a bargain anywhere these days.

I was surprised to go into Aldi's (a German grocery chain where most items are imported) this week and found that many prices were DOWN! That never happens, but it was nice to see. If you have Aldi's in your area, give them a look-see.

[Silent Type]

27. Heck, the local backyard egg farm has doubled their prices in last year or so.

[NJCher]

30. Aldi's is the ticket

I still buy food at 2022 prices at the supermarkets, though. I just peruse the sale ads. I have a good stock of food at home and grow most of my fresh produce. I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of my best prices and where I got them. This is kind of a hobby with me. This is how I know I am still buying at 2022 prices, sometimes even lower.

Here are some example prices:

Supermarket kombucha: anywhere from $2.50 for their house brand on sale to $4 or nearly $5. I laugh when I see this. It's just fermented tea, for Dog's sake.

Aldi kombucha: very good stuff for $2.24. Numerous flavors.

Best deal is to make it yourself, though. It's fun experimenting with flavors. The fermentation process is also interesting. I'm on a kombucha forum and we have a lot of fun sharing information about our passion, kombucha.

OK, here are some other prices:

Aldi cottage cheese, lg size: $2.25. Supermarket: $4.39.

Supermarket canned pears: $1.99, Aldi $1.49.

Supermarket crackers $3.49. Aldi $1.99 or less.

Lidl, a company without the integrity of Aldi, has good buys but not as good as Aldi. Sometimes they're fun to shop.

Where I live we have an Aldi and a Korean greengrocer, very large store, in proximity. Next to the greengrocer a Lidl is opening. I've got it made for competitive pricing.

My mom taught me all about shopping and planning menus based on sale ads. Whatever was on sale, that's what we were having for dinner. She showed me how to do it. She had quite the pantry where she would stock up on good buys, and so do I.

The standard sale price is 20% off. When she taught me how to do this, she asked me, "Do you want to be one of those people for whom life is 20% more?"

[OnDoutside]

55. We have Aldi and Lidl within a mile of my house, and

we would do a significant part of our weekly shop there. I first went to an Aldi in 1998 in Brussels and both they & Lidl have come on hugely in that time. My landlord at the time was a complete cheapskate and would only get household stuff there ! The quality is really good on a range of products.

[NanaCat]

76. Aldi's isn't always cheaper.

Aldi kombucha: very good stuff for $2.24. Numerous flavors.

Local grocer: $2.38 and up. Premium store brand (yes, there's such a thing): $2.68. So more expensive but not shockingly. No extra trip required though, so savings with that.

Aldi cottage cheese, lg size: $2.25. Supermarket: $4.39

Large is a relative term. Our local market offers 24 oz cottage cheese for $2.67 and up. So maybe if both are the same quantity, my local is a bit higher, but if your 'large' is less than 24 oz, then my local store is cheaper. Plus, again, I don't have to make an extra trip for it.

Supermarket canned pears: $1.99, Aldi $1.49.

Local market: $1.48 and up. Cheaper, but I'll allow that they're essentially the same as Aldi's.

Supermarket crackers $3.49. Aldi $1.99 or less.

Crackers is too broad of a category to simply list one arbitrary price as a comparison. Be more specific about variety and quantity, because a comparison means nothing otherwise. Let's say, for argument's sake, that you mean a 16 oz package of old-fashioned saltines:

My local store: $1.74 and up, which is cheaper than your Aldi's example, although who knows if the kind and amounts are comparable.

We're not even getting into the vast differences in prices between different grocery chains, and you could have based your supermarket prices on a chain that routinely charges more while another in your area has lower prices that might do as well or better than Aldi's in each category.

And like I said, Aldi's prices don't necessarily justify the fact that most people have to shop there in addition to their local supermarket, meaning an extra trip that doesn't come for free. Are you factoring that price into your comparison?

[NJCher]

87. Aldi's is almost always less expensive

I'm using ShopRite as a basis for comparison, which is a large chain of 300 stores in the Northeast and that is more reasonable than Stop 'n Shop and of course, Whole Foods and Kings. The latter two are expensive.

The prices and products I chose are off the top of my head, but I know they're accurate because I have a good memory for prices.

Large: 24 oz

Saltines? No way would we ever have that cracker. There is a large variety of crackers available at Aldi and they even offer almond flour for people who are low GI. And they are inexpensive, too. Almond flour crackers at any other supermarket are ridiculously expensive.

Off the top of my head, it's $1.99 for 8 oz wheat rounds, which are very comparable in quality to a cracker I paid $3.69 for at Acme.

It is interesting that there is some other supermarket out there that approaches Aldi competitively, but you don't say if it is a chain or a single store operation. Based on your prices, it does not really appear to be less expensive but it is comparable, which is quite an achievement. Please pass along the name.

Geography is a factor, too. Prices differ in various regions of the U.S.

The extra trip is not a factor for us, but it might be for other people so they can consider it if they think it's important. I always shop on my way to or from work and I get paid mileage so I don't factor it in. Also, I will shop at Aldi and no other supermarket for weeks at a time simply because I have a good-sized gardening operation and I don't have to go anyplace else. I'll concede these are circumstances that don't apply to most people. Oh and one other thing: I like to go grocery shopping. Most people don't.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

93. My mom taught me a lot about

How to shop. From what quality clothes are (like what types of fibers to look for, types of weaves etc.and what are good prices for them. How to work the grocery sales. I was also taught how to take care of my clothes and shoes well . I still have my purple doc martins and my tall doc martins from the 80’s and they are in very good shape I take good care of my leather. I was taught what to spend money on and what didn’t matter so much. Kinda sucks can’t use this info often now I can’t drive around to look for deals anymore.

[Attilatheblond]

62. Noticed food going up a lot weekly back in 2019 & thru 2020

But, evidently, most of the nation was preoccupied keeping an eye on all the stupid crap Trump was doing to distract us from what corporations were doing, and then came the BIG DISTRACTION, AKA COVID 19.

Media (corporate entities that also like tax cuts and little regulation) didn't mention inflation much until well after Biden was sworn in. And then there was the 'supply chain' problems, empty shelves and using that as cover to explain away price gouging to the few who were paying attention back then.

[NanaCat]

75. It depends on what you're buying

I spend an inordinate amount of time digging through my store's inventory, and I keep a running record of what I pay at the grocery, every week.

I know it doesn't seem like it, but I know from my own shopping that many things are coming down, at least where I am. Nearly all of my usual fresh meats, fruits and veg have come back to earth, and the sales for them are also coming back to pre-pandemic levels, too.

Some things haven't come down: frozen fast foods and desserts, some canned/packaged goods, junk like crisps and fizzy drinks, OTC meds, grooming supplies, household cleaners and so on.

So still work to do getting back to normal, but it is happening in many ways.

[democratsruletheday]

86. Aldi's is to DIE for!

We made the switch about a year ago. In Michigan, one of the bigger grocery store chains is Meijer and we were life long customers. But it got so damn high we tried Aldi and are saving over $75 per week since the switch. Love me some Aldi because yes, they actually announced the other day they're LOWERING prices for the summer:

https://www.griceconnect.com/local-news/aldi-announces-summer-savings-with-price-reductions-8724903

[I_UndergroundPanther]

96. ALDIs and costco

[Turbineguy]

15. People get used to the low minimum wage model.

When I was young, most McDonalds employees lived with their parents.

The prices had to reflect that. Big Mac, fries and a milkshake, one dollar would get you change.

[NanaCat]

79. That has nothing to do with it

People keep making this invalid comparison to a previous era, as if prices stay static over time, when they don't.

Many things *seem* higher now, but, if you adjust for inflation, they're the same price as they were, and some are even lower than they were during whatever rando era referenced. As I noted above, some prices are actually outright cheaper than they were even 20 years ago, without taking inflation into account. Like mobile phones and their coverage plans.

This is why it's ridiculous to talk about the old days when gas prices were 50p, or whatever. Because that 50p may be more expensive for its era than the average price is now. Even a money illiterate like me knows that prices don't stay static over time, and they don't always go up, relative to inflation.

[MacKasey]

16. How about a national database of prices of products sold by where the consumer is purchasing it

I'm talking any large chains

Like fast food and supermarkets

Not mom and pop

I know in Vermont, Hannaford has better prices on dairy products than price chopper

But price chopper has a freshly reduced area which Hannaford does not

But since the end of COVID the egg version of toaster pop ups is now 4.99 and it use to be about $3.50


If it makes it easier for the consumer to check prices, will it start to drive prices down

The consumer has the power to slow down spending too.

I also try not to buy unless on sale

[NanaCat]

81. Don't forget to factor in geography

Because it plays a role, too. Fruit and veg prices have always been much cheaper in the southern tier states than they are in northern states, overall, because grocers in the southern tier usually don't have to pay nearly as much in transit costs to get those products. That effects the prices more than most people realize.

That's among the reasons why retailers will never go for the nationwide database, and honestly, it's not fair to hem to come up with such a comparison pit stop when they have no control over transit costs that factor into higher prices for some areas vs others.

Shoppers need to be more proactive in keeping track of who sells what at which prices. To their credit, today's grocers do make it easier, because nearly all of them offer a digital portal to see what you'd pay before you buy, and they even offer their weekly ads and coupons online to assist in making groceries more affordable.

We are responsible for what we buy, and the prices we pay for those things. No one else.

[RandomNumbers]

17. I wonder if the penchant for fast food has anything to do with

the scrapping of home economics and similar life-skills classes in middle and high school?

The idea of prepping your own "fast food" ahead of time, using relatively(!) inexpensive but far healthier ingredients from a weekly shopping trip at the grocery store, should be a lot less daunting to someone who has basic kitchen skills.

I can't remember the last time I got food from a fast food place. The closest thing would be picking up some road munchies at a chain gas station when I was on a trip. I consider that stuff a "treat" and could avoid it if I couldn't afford it.

[Attilatheblond]

65. Tough to practice 'home economics' while juggling 40+ hours working 1 or 2 jobs

Paying for child care and doing the basics to keep the home liveable. Only so many hours and people, mainly the females, are flippin tired.

But yeah, few if any home-ec classes (and basic shop classes?) anymore, which is as corporations like it. A less educated public is a more malleable public and people with fewer 'life skills' make for expanding markets for those providing services to do what fewer and fewer know how to do.

[EarlG]

18. For years, our local Silver Diner had an all-day breakfast flat iron steak and eggs for $16.99

I haven't eaten there for a long time, it's an "upmarket" kind of diner so it's already a bit pricey, but on rare occasions in the past I might splurge on a breakfast treat.

Anyway I was thinking about eating there the other day, but when I checked the menu that exact same item is now $24.99. It almost seemed like a joke. A cup of coffee is extra ($3.49). So if you order the flat iron steak and eggs with a cup of coffee, it's:

Meal: $24.99
Coffee: $3.49
Tax: $1.71
15% tip: $4.50

Total: $34.69

For this:





$34.69

Absolute insanity. Needless to say I went home and cooked myself something instead. And FWIW, I don't blame Joe Biden, I blame the restaurant owner who thinks that's a reasonable amount of money to pay for the above.

[dalton99a]

51. +1. Restaurants are in an arms race to raise prices regardless of cost input

Because Biden makes them do it

[hlthe2b]

19. When I posted last week that the chicken sandwich I bought for a coworker at Wendy's

was almost $8 with tax (including the extra $ for lettuce, tomato, and mayo) a DUer DEMANDED that I produce a receipt--clearly insinuating I was making it up). I was very offended and certainly was not going to waste time trying to prove ANYTHING to that individual, but instead merely suggested that there were likely some regional differences-- as dalton99a's OP article clearly shows. I was quite taken aback at the rudeness, but am glad this article is vindicating me, even if it does not appear that Wendy's was specifically included.

I don't eat fast food myself (or rarely) but I do occasionally bring things in for others so this truly caught me off guard. I did mention that had I known a nearby KFC was still selling their chicken sandwiches for $5 and change, I'd have gone there instead.

At any rate, thanks for posting this.

[dalton99a]

54. +1. The crazy prices are real.

[bif]

20. Simple solution: Don't buy that garbage!

[Cheezoholic]

23. There has been an explosion of mom and pop burger and shake joints out here in white rage America

4 have opened within 10 miles of me in the last 3-4 years and seem to be doing very well. Not that I partake in corporate fast food very often but these mom and pop places rock. No premix milk shakes, machines can be heard spinning and the metal mixing cups clanging. Most of them buy the meat and produce locally and they offer real salads, a couple even offer veggie/vegan items on their menus. Of course they all are closed in winter just like they used to be, there's just not the business between Nov. and March.

When I was in high school in the 70's we had to drive 40 miles round trip for a Big Heart Attack or a bag full of Arterial Sliders. Was the perfect distance to skip second half of classes head out roll a couple and be in munchy heaven when we pulled up. Most of us fell asleep on the way home. We were lucky to get one of those once a month.

That little town I was born in (7k) finally go it's own Ron's place in the early 90's. They let school out and had a fucking parade on it's opening day. We were on to something back in the day I guess, as far as skipping school. The closest thing to a corporate fast food joint that town had until then was a DQ that opened in the 60's. It had 3 other mom and pop burger shacks and 2 mom and pop ice cream parlors. Real ones with stainless steel everywhere.

After that parade in the early 90's it was quickly followed buy a Hardees and a Taco Bell. By the turn of the century all of the mom and pop shops were shuttered, except for DQ. I've noticed that a lot when I've traveled around the country, DQ's seem to survive everything. After the Apocalypse their will probably be nothing left standing but DQ's and Waffle Houses.

Last year the last mom and pop burger joint that the McDonald's alien invaders shut down, Mr. Happy Burger, quietly opened back up. No parade, no free day of school. Yet it was truly a happy day in so called white rage America.

[CurtEastPoint]

31. What is 'white rage America?'

[Celerity]

71. Likely rural and deffo into this: White rage won't just go away

African American studies scholar Carol Anderson on the policies that legitimize white rage.

https://www.vox.com/22243875/white-rage-white-nationalism

For some, Joe Biden entering the White House has felt like a sigh of relief: The president who unabashedly led the country with hate and helped orchestrate the deaths of more than 410,000 Americans in a pandemic is finally gone. Biden signed 17 executive actions on his first day as the country’s chief executive, and has signed about another dozen since. He has made it his priority to reverse and reject much of Trump’s agenda.

While his gestures so far spell hope, other Americans are holding their breath, familiar with how progress in America always comes at a price. When Black Americans in particular make strides toward equality, the determined hand of white supremacy pushes back. Emory African American studies professor Carol Anderson calls this phenomenon “white rage.”

According to Anderson, white rage is legitimatized through the policies that make up the American political framework. It lives in voter ID laws and manifests in the Black votes that are never cast. It lives in criminal sentencing laws and plays out in a war on drugs that was waged against Black people. It is the rage that fueled the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on January 6 in an attempt to dismantle America’s multicultural democracy — and it hasn’t gone away.

“White rage is the operational function of white supremacy. It is the fear of a multicultural democracy. It is predicated on a sense that only whites are legitimate Americans,” Anderson told me. I talked to Anderson, who wrote an entire book about white rage, about its meaning and how it has historically operated in America. Our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, also addresses how to put an end to it.

snip

[NJCher]

33. my brother tells me about these places

He lives in "white rage America."

He's getting out of there, yay. Soon. Still has to sell a few more properties and the family house.

[Runningdawg]

24. We have replaced the corporates with the mom and pops.

Why on earth would I want a 3.49 frozen potato "product", a serving size which can fit in my hand, when I can watch the owner at the local burger joint fry a bag full of freshly cut potatoes for $3? Now IDK what he pays, but I know people who have worked there and they had no complaints. He even let employees take food from the kitchen home to cook for their kids.
The local mom and pop Mexican restaurant - last week we picked up a steak burrito, a whole fried fish with a appetizer and all the sides for 26.92. The last time we ate at Wendy's we had 2 single combos and small frostys and it was $24.
We both love catfish and hot wings - at the local gas station 3.49 per serving. No sides, i generally make those.
At the local soul food restaurant a catfish dinner will set you back nearly $30. The thing is, he makes the best wings and catfish in Tulsa and most people drive right on by....

[Freethinker65]

25. Eat something else?

I understand some people do not have access to full kitchens, but there are alternatives. Fully cooked grocery store rotisserie whole chickens are often way under $10 and grab a bagged salad.

Skip the soft drink (ask for a cup for water or refill your own container) and fries at fast food places. Just get the sandwich. Buy a side dish at the grocery, or a piece of fruit.

[kimbutgar]

47. You can slice the leftover chicken to make sandwiches for lunch the next week!

[JohnSJ]

26. A lot of the reason for that is the increase in fuel prices. This isn't rocket science, and I have no doubt

that the prices are being artificially kept high with hopes of helping the sexist, racist, bigot, insurrectionist in 2024

[PeaceWave]

28. Try Burger King - They've got coupons in the mail that bring the price WAY down.

Just the other day, we got two Whoppers, two large fries and two ridiculously large Cokes for $14. Without the coupon, the price would have been nearly twice that. Nation's also has a buy 1 burger get one for $1 coupon. Their burgers are now $12, so that's another great coupon. It's a great time to be a thrifty person, which I already was. Honestly, I think I save my household at least $500 per month with all the discounts that I've incorporated into our way of life.

[NJCher]

35. As I stated above

I think of it as a game. The consumer has power. Use it.

[ms liberty]

29. A Bojangles 4 pc chicken supreme combo used to be $5.99 before tax. Now w/tax, it's $10.39

My MiL is older and not too well, so if she wants it, she gets it. She can afford it and it's her disposable income. I could afford it, but the prices make me lose my appetite and mentally take an inventory of my food supplies. It's insane.

[bucolic_frolic]

32. Brown baggers

or insulated pouch.

Aldi tuna pouch and 2 slices of bread ... about $1.10. Fast food has passed its peak utility. Time to make changes.

[Voltaire2]

34. It certainly isn't increased labor costs.

Food inflation spiked from 2020-2022, primarily due to COVID disruptions and other supply related malfunctions. Labor costs increased as well, but at consistently lower rates than commodity inflation. Also the federal min wage hasn’t increased in a long time.

Going forward we should expect continued large scale supply disruptions. Global warming and related epidemiological, sociological, and political events are disrupting the global economy and in particular food production and distribution.

[Ritabert]

38. Haven't eaten fast food in years

Too expensive and not that great. If traveling I have a cooler in the car and make my own sandwiches and iced tea.

[ColinC]

39. I imagine the high fast food prices will be temporary

And as technology and infrastructure deem it possible, machines will replace the human capital like anything else.

[jalan48]

40. Great news! Less fast food consumption will lead to better health and lower medical costs down the road.

[anciano]

42. Exactly.

Thank you.

[Scrivener7]

43. You say that like it's a bad thing.

[NickB79]

44. Americans are choking on an obesity epidemic

The last thing we need is cheap fast food. 70% of us are overweight. 40% are obese. It's killing us.

If you can spend 20 minutes online, you can find hundreds of recipes for meals that are healthier and cheaper than anything fast food has to offer. I'm the cook in the house, and feed my family quality food for under $4/person, high in protein, fiber and vegetables, and we're big eaters here (lots of physical labor). And all of our grocery shopping is at Aldi's, Sam's Club, Kwik Trip and Dollar Tree, hardly high-end grocery stores.

Tonight I'm making chicken tikka masala. Brown rice, jarred Aldi sauce, Aldi chicken breast, frozen cauliflower florets, and frozen naan bread. Takes under 30 minutes to make, 20 of those are waiting for it to simmer on the stove. $12 for 3 of us, with leftovers for my lunch tomorrow. You aren't getting a meal for $3 at McDonald's.

[doc03]

66. Just go to your local mall or out in the public anywhere and observe the young people

especially young girls that are morbidly obese. We are going to have a diabetes crisis in this country
in a couple decades. The declining lifespan in the USA is already evident.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

97. I think the obesity problem is

Driven by sugar, fructose and corn syrup. That shit is in everything even when it is not needed. When I cut most of the sugar out of my diet I lost a lot of weight just doing that. I was blown away. And my activity level is the same as before. I was 248 now I am 170. Less than 2 years.

[Takket]

45. stop eating there and you'll be amazed how willing they are to forgo some of their massive profits to lower prices

[kimbutgar]

46. You can get a package of frozen hash browns for about $4, cook them yourself and they taste better than

McDonald’s. That said, I rarely eat at fast food chains and prefer local businesses. Once a year we try Jack in the box and it was $27 for 2 sandwiches and fries. I could have made one at home cheaper buying buns and hamburger meat and frozen French fries. And had leftovers.

[David__77]

49. Not every job is worth "saving".

Labor should not be cheap.

[Srkdqltr]

52. And the phone or computer you are posting from costs hundreds of $$$$ and puts nothing into a

neighborhood workers pocket. Just a thought.

[catrose]

53. Something I never seen mentioned is the effect of food delivery services

Since the pandemic, more and more people are using services like GrubHub to deliver food from restaurants. The delivery service collects money from the orderer And also from the restaurant— 30% I believe. I knew restaurant that simply raised their prices 30%, which is hard to cope with as a consumer. And people order fast food through these services just as much as from sitdown restaurants.

[elocs]

56. I can't justify the unhealthy food which is why I haven't eaten fast food in years. n/t

[appleannie1]

57. I figure if I have to pay over $15 dollars for a burger with a glass of water, I might as well go to one of the small,

family owned restaurants and sit down to a decent meal. I can eat at the Chinese Buffet place closest to me and have a full meal with a pot of hot tea for $11 or go to the Eat N Park chain restaurant and get the Whale of a Cod meal and take half of it home for the next day for the same price as a Big Mac and fries.

[Ponietz]

59. Wildfires, heatwaves, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods will make food prices skyrocket

and the future isn’t far away. Tick-tock. Here it comes.

[TSExile]

61. It's not worth it.

I ended up buying a little cooler and making a bag lunch instead. It's a lot less fuss and muss, healthier and cheaper. Food in general isn't cheap, but this route worked for me. Sure, every once in a while I get a hankering for McDonald's fries...but I have only been through the drive thru only a couple of times in the past year or so.

[doc03]

63. The big push for a $15 minimum wage gave them license to raise prices

justified or not. Here in Ohio the minimum wage is around $10 an hour but most people are under the belief
it is now $15. Since hearing about $20 an hour in California I have heard a few people say it is $20 here too.
I just drove by a McDonalds; their lot was full and there were two lines at the drive-up. Same thing with Starbucks
the lot was full and the line went through the lot and 5 or 6 six cars were lined in the street. I here everyone complaining
about the prices but business doesn't appear to be affected in the least. I am single and eat out one meal every day
if I have the time I eat in I would rather pay a couple dollars extra to eat in a sit-down restaurant. You can't pay people
wages people used to make in a union manufacturing job to flip burgers and think prices aren't going to go up.

[MenloParque]

64. Adapt.

I recently moved and now live in a food desert with the closest grocery and fast food a 45 minute drive. I couldn't be happier and healthier. I don't know how people afford those fast food combo meals. Driving by these establishment makes me want to gag with the nasty fryer grease polluting the air. So foul.

[NanaCat]

68. This may turn out to be a blessing in disguise

The money we spent on fast food in the past now pays for not only a grocer's tab for more healthy food (eating fresh meat & veg can be expensive), but also 'fun' stuff like books for me and the D&D gear my hubby collects. Plus, we're far healthier now than we were when we ate fast food more often.

My mum eats out all the time, much to my consternation. 'It's not good for you, and you're wasting so much money doing that, even with your senior discounts.' I know I'm wasting my breath on her, since narcissists crave social interaction to get their necessary daily ego boost. So she keeps wasting money in restaurants with her minio--er, 'friends,' even though it takes a toll on her health when she can least afford that, physically.

[Marthe48]

73. Can I afford it?

Yes.

Do I want to afford it?

No.

What needs to happen is for the CEOs and others who got rich and are getting richer, to stop raking in thousands of dollars a minute as salaries, stock buybacks, bonuses and other methods of stuffing pockets, and take responsibility for paying their employees a fair wage and stop relying on their customer base to pay all of the costs of their businesses.

I wish that somebody would call off whatever freakish contest the almighty rich are having and say somebody won already and stop the insane drive to bankrupt the rest of us.

[SarahD]

77. Silver lining?

Many people have predicted that high prices might force us to kick the fast food habit, but we seem to be addicted. Rising heroin prices have not solved the drug addiction problem. Looks like the same thing applies to the Happy Meal.

[Jacson6]

82. At home I can make a quarter pounder hamburger w/ cheese, Potato & Coke for $4

[TexasBushwhacker]

83. Not at my McDonald's

Granted, I'm not in California, but I can still get 2 Quarter Pounders with cheese thru their app for $4.59. They are buy one, get one free. So are Big Macs and 10 piece McNuggets.

In Los Angeles, using the app, they're $4.99, again but one get one free. Now I can't check on the cost of hash browns, because it's not breakfast time, but I know they do the breakfast sandwiches 2 for 1 also.

They bottom line is the bottom line. If price hikes start to affect the net profits, they'll drop them back down, just like they do iPhones. The last thing they want is for people to break their habit of eating fast food.

[niyad]

84. For $10 plus tip, I go to my favourite, locally-owned, Asian restaurant,

and I get a complete meal, including soup, rice, and spring roll, taking home enough for at least one, and sometimes two, meals. Even with ordering a glass of wine, the entire bill, with tip, is $20. I have been going there for years, as have the majority of their customers. The place is packed at the usual lunch and dinner hours, so I go at less-crowded times. The prices have only gone up about $2 per meal in the last 5 or 6 years, which I do not find unreasonable.

Local restaurants seem to charge anywhere from $15 to $20 for a burger and fries meal. And, yes, I have some fast food coupons, but sooo NOT impressed the last few times I have actually gone into one, including with their pricing, and atmosphere.

[GenThePerservering]

85. First world problem

just stop eating that shit.

[pansypoo53219]

98. we rarely eat fast food + save money cooking.

tastes better too.

[woodsprite]

101. We found that Dairy Queen has less expensive sandwhich options then McD's or Wendy's

plus the burgers are bigger and they have grilled chicken, hot dogs, and salad options on their menu as well. And as a bonus, they have mini Blizzards if you want ice cream other than vanilla to end your meal.