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> “Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation,” Josephson said. I find the phrasing odd. It

by barbazoo 11mo ago

> “Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation,” Josephson said. I find the phrasing odd. It is because corporations have raised prices that inflation has increased. Rising prices aren't a result of inflation.

Barrin92 11mo ago
No, inflation is a monetary and political phenomenon. Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily, in particular not the fast food industry which faces what is probably the strongest competition on the planet. The entire restaurant industry does not collude on the prices of burgers. In this particular case it's wage-push inflation. The lowest quintile of workers has seen very strong wage gains among other reasons because of tight labour markets and minimum wage legislation, which on the consumer side prices a lot of people out of the service economy.
- nawgz 11mo ago
  > Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required] Edit: how are you downvoting me? Go look at corporate profit margins now, 10 years ago, and 40 years ago. If you believe you can hand wave with simplified BS like "Supply and Demand" you probably have some heavy reading on price elasticity to catch up on.
  - jameslk 11mo ago
    [flagged]
    - nawgz 11mo ago
      [flagged]
      - deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
    - skinnymuch 11mo ago
      Then why are profit margins bigger? Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that.
      - deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
      - jameslk 11mo ago
        > Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that. That was never my argument. The commenter I responded to edited his comment to add those points after I replied. This was his comment before: > Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required]
        nawgz 11mo ago
        That is pretty obvious from where it says “Edit:”, what isn’t obvious is how Supply and Demand prevents companies from setting prices arbitrarily. Which is and always was what your comment said.
- forgotoldacc 11mo ago
  That's a nice excuse from the executives, but it doesn't align with reality. McDonald's profits have been rising every year. [1] If those dastardly minimum wage workers and their fat paychecks were putting even the slightest bit of pressure on struggling McDonald's, the expectation would be some sort of reduction in profit. But it's the total opposite. Profits are outpacing whatever losses they're (not) experiencing from whatever supposed wage increases they have. [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales-104611714.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales...
  - jameslk 11mo ago
    What are McDonald’s profits adjusted for inflation?
    - pseudalopex 11mo ago
      McDonald's net margin doubled from 16% to 32% in 10 years.[1] [1] https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/prof...
      - deleted 11mo ago
        [deleted]
- skinnymuch 11mo ago
  You’re repeating generic right wing-ish talking points. Yet profit margins have increased. If your reasoning was correct, profit margins wouldn’t be increasing as they are.
dingnuts 11mo ago
.. no, corporations raise prices in response to the falling value of the dollar which has been occurring predictably since 2020 when the money supply was increased 20% (remember the "printer goes brr" memes and the "stimulus checks")? Make more money supply -> money is worth less -> prices go up simple stuff I guess the next step is: blame corporations, nationalize them, see it causes economic problems (we're here), and then repeat (Trump promises $2k checks to everyone, this is coming soon)
pgalvin 11mo ago
OTOH, no company or item exists in a vacuum. If McDonald’s suppliers have increased prices, and their employees expect higher wages due to inflation, then McDonald’s must increase prices or eat the cost (unsustainable in the long-term). Does this only contribute to inflation? Yes. But so does every worker who wants higher wages - unfortunately everybody in the chain has such little influence on the wider economy that they must simply prioritise themselves. This is an overly simplistic view, of course, not least because it presumes good faith, but that is really my point: the economy has too many moving parts to simply say “you’re to blame for inflation because you increased your prices”.
kevin_thibedeau 11mo ago
The inflation boom was caused by the free money handed out to everyone. Inflation is inevitable when the dollar is devalued.
- izacus 11mo ago
  Why are you ignoring the more-than-doubling of McDs profit margins here?

Barrin92 11mo ago

No, inflation is a monetary and political phenomenon. Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily, in particular not the fast food industry which faces what is probably the strongest competition on the planet. The entire restaurant industry does not collude on the prices of burgers. In this particular case it's wage-push inflation. The lowest quintile of workers has seen very strong wage gains among other reasons because of tight labour markets and minimum wage legislation, which on the consumer side prices a lot of people out of the service economy.

nawgz 11mo ago
> Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required] Edit: how are you downvoting me? Go look at corporate profit margins now, 10 years ago, and 40 years ago. If you believe you can hand wave with simplified BS like "Supply and Demand" you probably have some heavy reading on price elasticity to catch up on.
- jameslk 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - nawgz 11mo ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
  - skinnymuch 11mo ago
    Then why are profit margins bigger? Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that.
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
    - jameslk 11mo ago
      > Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that. That was never my argument. The commenter I responded to edited his comment to add those points after I replied. This was his comment before: > Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required]
      - nawgz 11mo ago
        That is pretty obvious from where it says “Edit:”, what isn’t obvious is how Supply and Demand prevents companies from setting prices arbitrarily. Which is and always was what your comment said.
forgotoldacc 11mo ago
That's a nice excuse from the executives, but it doesn't align with reality. McDonald's profits have been rising every year. [1] If those dastardly minimum wage workers and their fat paychecks were putting even the slightest bit of pressure on struggling McDonald's, the expectation would be some sort of reduction in profit. But it's the total opposite. Profits are outpacing whatever losses they're (not) experiencing from whatever supposed wage increases they have. [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales-104611714.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales...
- jameslk 11mo ago
  What are McDonald’s profits adjusted for inflation?
  - pseudalopex 11mo ago
    McDonald's net margin doubled from 16% to 32% in 10 years.[1] [1] https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/prof...
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
skinnymuch 11mo ago
You’re repeating generic right wing-ish talking points. Yet profit margins have increased. If your reasoning was correct, profit margins wouldn’t be increasing as they are.

dingnuts 11mo ago

.. no, corporations raise prices in response to the falling value of the dollar which has been occurring predictably since 2020 when the money supply was increased 20% (remember the "printer goes brr" memes and the "stimulus checks")? Make more money supply -> money is worth less -> prices go up simple stuff I guess the next step is: blame corporations, nationalize them, see it causes economic problems (we're here), and then repeat (Trump promises $2k checks to everyone, this is coming soon)

pgalvin 11mo ago

OTOH, no company or item exists in a vacuum. If McDonald’s suppliers have increased prices, and their employees expect higher wages due to inflation, then McDonald’s must increase prices or eat the cost (unsustainable in the long-term). Does this only contribute to inflation? Yes. But so does every worker who wants higher wages - unfortunately everybody in the chain has such little influence on the wider economy that they must simply prioritise themselves. This is an overly simplistic view, of course, not least because it presumes good faith, but that is really my point: the economy has too many moving parts to simply say “you’re to blame for inflation because you increased your prices”.

kevin_thibedeau 11mo ago

The inflation boom was caused by the free money handed out to everyone. Inflation is inevitable when the dollar is devalued.

izacus 11mo ago
Why are you ignoring the more-than-doubling of McDs profit margins here?