ArtzDarkroom Loc: Near Disneyland-Orange County, California

Starting TODAY... Minimum Wage in Cali for FAST food workers is $20/hr.
Do you believe ME?

Triple G

They'll find out just how elastic or inelastic the demand is for fast food. My prediction is that some people will boycott, some will continue and bitch about it, and some will just roll with it. I'm in the last camp as we only take advantage of fast food when we're traveling.

Truth Seeker Loc: High Mountains of the Western US

Why just fast food workers?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

In some cases, it will now be cheaper to eat a full meal at a "sit down" place.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years. My sister-in-law phoned the other day because she went to McDonalds for the first time in a few years and was shocked by the prices. She normally doesn't go to fast food restaurants however, on this occasion, she took my mother-in-law to lunch and my mother-in-law wanted McDonald's. When you're 85 you pretty much get what you want.

They had two-Quarter Pounder with Cheese meals with medium drinks and medium fries. The total was $28. Last year McDonald's raised their prices to see if it would have any effect on the volume of business. There was no negligible difference in volume and their profits soared, they began a share buy-back program and the top-tier management received enormous bonuses.

Mcdonald's has reduced in-store personnel in many locations and markets by using Kiosks Ordering Devices. I am not old enough to have experienced dining at Horn and Hardt Automat but it seems that McDonald's may be headed in that direction.

Corporate greed is fueling inflation.

Triple G

Yes, it is. I like it as a stock shareholder, but I'm good with less.

pendennis

Read any of the late Dr. Milton Friedman's discussions on inflation.

Inflation is caused EXCLUSIVELY by the Federal Government. The private sector only REACTS to inflation.

Simply, too many dollars (excess money supply) chasing too few goods. All caused by Federal government overspending.

Triple G

His theory has been revised by many economists today. The era of Volcher and the 2008 crisis has created new theories and states that the role of monetary policy setting interest rates is as important as is money supply.

https://evonomics.com/the-truth-about-inflation-why-milton-friedman-was-wrong-again/
https://jacobin.com/2023/05/milton-friedman-james-tobin-inflation-unemployment-rate
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/how-are-milton-friedmans-ideas-holding
https://news.stanford.edu/2022/09/06/what-causes-inflation/

steve03 Loc: long Lsland

I am old enough to remember Horn and Hardt Automat and sadly think that McDinals could never replace them. They became Burger Kings in NYC in the 60's

pendennis

I wasn't referring to Dr. Friedman's economic philosophy as a monetarist. He and I don't agree on that point. Dr. Friedman stated in any number of lectures, that inflation was caused by excess government spending, and the accompanying inflation, covered by issuance of government bonds or bills to cover the excess, and turning on the printing presses. That has always been true, and your citations don't change that fact.

Corporations DO NOT set economic policy. They react to it.

You started your screed by accusing corporations of being greedy, and that greed causes inflation. You're in complete error on that point, and that's what I've argued consistently.

Triple G

Corporations react and over-react. . There are documented price increased that were in anticipation of inflation and again at actual reports of inflation. If corp. increases matched (on a lag as a reaction) then I could buy your premise. But, that is not what has happened in this inflationary cycle since 2020. Maybe corps. are making up for losses caused by covid disruption as I've heard one commentator in their defense. Egg pricing has been determined to be guilty of price gouging and greed and that is what it is even if the more palatable terminology is "profit taking.
https://www.businessinsider.com/why-prices-inflation-soaring-corporate-greed-profits-margins-wages-jobs-2023-4

pendennis

You're still playing Ring Around The Rosy. And whatever companies charge, is not "gouging". Since we have a relatively free market, you are free to buy eggs where they're the cheapest. Those charging higher prices will have to lower them, if they don't sell them at their asking price.

What make you think that the economists in the private sector are less able to forecast inflationary trends and cycles than those in government? They all operate and forecast off the same sets of data.

And the fact that companies are "making up" for losses incurred in 2020-2021, only proves my point, that businesses are reacting to inflation, not causing it. The same goes for wages, even those companies which pay cost of living adjustments. They're all REACTING to inflation, not causing it.

The private sector does not print money, nor does it issue notes and bonds reflecting overspending by the government. That's the purview of the Federal government.

Triple G

You can continue circling, but you haven't addressed that many economists believe that

1. the market with disruptions created an environment where prices could be raised indiscriminately

2. companies raised prices and enjoyed record profits

3. record profits could be also due to companies not increasing wages at the same pace as prices

4. higher prices and lower wages are inflationary.


https://www.epi.org/blog/corporate-profits-have-contributed-disproportionately-to-inflation-how-should-policymakers-respond/


"I’ve spent a lot of my time in the last few years, and we at the Financial Times have spent a lot of our time tracking this shift in the corporate mood and in corporate priorities away from the Milton Friedman view of the world that a company had no social responsibility other than just to make a profit within the rules of the game to something that’s usually called stakeholder capitalism, which is this idea that companies should be looking after the interests of all of their stakeholders, so their employees, their customers, the environments, the other communities they work in and things like that, as well as their shareholders. And I think this argument, this debate that we’re having about the proper level of corporate profits is a real test of that supposed commitment to stakeholder capitalism that the biggest companies in America have made over recent years. And I think that is one reason why we’re seeing such anxiety from corporate executives about this narrative. It really tests the question of whether they will have to make some sacrifices, if they’re going to take as good care of their consumers as they do for shareholders."

https://now.tufts.edu/2024/02/16/whats-connection-between-inflation-and-higher-prices-and-wages

https://www.ft.com/content/ef4e1be1-67aa-40cf-8a45-25086e0a42ac

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/friedman-doctrine-still-relevant-21st-century

Truth Seeker Loc: High Mountains of the Western US

Why just fast food workers?

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

And the people who proposed and passed that law will wonder why so many fast food places close down or bring in a bunch of robotic cookers, put up more of those order kiosks with key pads for "order it yourself". And of course they will cut back on cleaning the place and go to disposable trays etc. to avoid needing dish washers
The manger and the cooks will be left but the cooks will have to "multi-task" and cook faster and more things at once.

And the prices will still have to go up. $20 burgers without having to go to a fancy place.

And to think the first McDonald's I ever went to was 1/2 block from the small college I went to my freshman year. I got lunch, small burger, small frys, small drink for $1 with some change coming back. Of course that was in 1964.