The ridiculous cost of fast food now

[lucusloc]

I sincerely doubt if any of the major chains pay less than the legal minimum wage. Mom and pop places maybe could get away with it, but it could mean big trouble for the majors.

I don't know if it matters if they themselves pay under the minimum? I think it is mostly market pressure for the value proposition. If your customers don't have a lot to work with there is not a lot of squeeze to be had. You may just have to choke down a smaller profit margin (already slim for fast food, but you can usually cut something if you have to). I thought the analyst was pretty interesting and comprehensive, looking at over a dozen markets and doing a pretty detailed job to nail down the actual average minimum wage, not just what is defined in law. If I find time to look for it I will try and find it.

 

[arakboss]

That's what happens when minimum wages are quickly climbing in excess of $20/hour…

Whatever they are paying the fast food workers, it's evidently not enough. They are all short handed. Many teens don't want to work because they are supported by parents making big bucks. Inflation all around is high and adding a trillion dollars to the debt every 100 days, isn't going to help things. Enjoy your money while it still buys you a hamburger.

The U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days

The nation's debt now stands at nearly $34.4 trillion.

www.google.com

 

[ilostmypswrd]

When I first enlisted in the Marines in 77, there was a cool taco place outside of MCAS K-Bay 10 tacos for 1.00 and 50% off active duty service members, the lines were miles long, those were the dayz.

 

[arakboss]

When I first enlisted in the Marines in 77, there was a cool taco place outside of MCAS K-Bay 10 tacos for 1.00 and 50% off active duty service members, the lines were miles long, those were the dayz.

Horse meat was cheap back then.

 

[ilostmypswrd]

Horse meat was cheap back then.

Hahahahaha dude, my PLT SGT said it was ground up stray dogs, from the big island, who cares 50cents for 10 of them, lololol.

 

[arakboss]

Hahahahaha dude, my PLT SGT said it was ground up stray dogs, from the big island, who cares 50cents for 10 of them, lololol.

You win the relevant avatar award for this thread.

 

[Cavedweller]

I don't know if it matters if they themselves pay under the minimum?

"The law requires that you be paid at least Oregon's minimum wage, with few exceptions."

"You cannot agree to make less than the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the same for adults and for minors."

BOLI : Oregon Minimum Wage : For Workers : State of Oregon

The minimum wage is $15.45 per hour in the Portland metro area, $14.20 per hour in standard counties, and $13.20 per hour in non-urban areas.

www.oregon.gov

As I recall (I worked for the Employment Dept. for 10 years in a previous life) there is an exemption to the minimum wage law for family members working in a family owned business.

 

[MTpockets]

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[lucusloc]

"The law requires that you be paid at least Oregon's minimum wage, with few exceptions."

"You cannot agree to make less than the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the same for adults and for minors."

BOLI : Oregon Minimum Wage : For Workers : State of Oregon

The minimum wage is $15.45 per hour in the Portland metro area, $14.20 per hour in standard counties, and $13.20 per hour in non-urban areas.

www.oregon.gov

As I recall (I worked for the Employment Dept. for 10 years in a previous life) there is an exemption to the minimum wage law for family members working in a family owned business.

There is also the "illegal migrant worker" loophole that seems to be super popular now. If you are going to be hiring illegal workers off the books anyway there is no real incentive to follow pay laws as well. If you know roughly how many workers are in a region and roughly what the pay difference is between legal and illegal minimum wages (as well as all the other pay demographics, which should be easier to find) you can come up with a decently accurate number for the true average minimum wage. Compare that to what a burger costs and the conclusion is that a burger always costs the same no matter where you are, if only you convert from cash to time.

 

[Knobgoblin]

"The law requires that you be paid at least Oregon's minimum wage, with few exceptions."

"You cannot agree to make less than the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the same for adults and for minors."

BOLI : Oregon Minimum Wage : For Workers : State of Oregon

The minimum wage is $15.45 per hour in the Portland metro area, $14.20 per hour in standard counties, and $13.20 per hour in non-urban areas.

www.oregon.gov

As I recall (I worked for the Employment Dept. for 10 years in a previous life) there is an exemption to the minimum wage law for family members working in a family owned business.

You guys either haven't worked on the bottom rungs of food service, or it's simply been too long for you to remember.
Tricking/coercing work performed off the clock is managerial 101 stuff.

 

[Paolung]

Why stop at $16? Why not $50. Remember when these jobs we're for highschoolers? Never meant to be a living wage...yet the idiocy continues.

A lot of "living wage" rhetoric is powered by Socialist ideas. The demand that someone's labor which produces very little value to society at a fast food joint or at a Hot Topic store should by necessity equal trade value for everyone else's labor, products, and technology, is ludicrous.

 

[Paolung]

You didn't think that a $16/hr minimum wage was going to raise retail prices?

Sure. But, while it's certainly a factor and can explain some of the increase, a roughly 4x increase in wage isn't the only reason the price is 8x higher.

 

[nammac]

Sure. But, while it's certainly a factor and can explain some of the increase, a roughly 4x increase in wage isn't the only reason the price is 8x higher.

Sure, ingredients have increased, energy has increased, insurance has increased. They're all factors, it's just easier to point to wages, it's right out there. But it's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg…

 

[Knobgoblin]

Sure. But, while it's certainly a factor and can explain some of the increase, a roughly 4x increase in wage isn't the only reason the price is 8x higher.

Wage increase exacerbated by operating costs, and historically unprecedented turnover ( new hires don't train themselves)

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

.

 

[Paolung]

Wage increase exacerbated by operating costs, and historically unprecedented turnover ( new hires don't train themselves)

As others have rightly pointed out, actual sit-down restaurants have these costs as well (arguably even higher costs since they also employ host and waitstaff) - yet their prices haven't blown up by 8x for some reason…

 

[Certaindeaf]

For $2 you can buy enough government sanctioned fentanyl to permanently erase long-term memory though so it's all pretty moot really.

 

[Knobgoblin]

As others have rightly pointed out, actual sit-down restaurants have these costs as well (arguably even higher costs since they also employ host and waitstaff) - yet their prices haven't blown up by 8x for some reason…

Taco bell is probably the last truly cheap fast food.
Burger joints rely on beef , which is expensive. They all tried for a solid decade to shift customers over to chicken based sandwiches, unsuccessfully. This price adjustment was inevitable.

 

[arakboss]

As others have rightly pointed out, actual sit-down restaurants have these costs as well (arguably even higher costs since they also employ host and waitstaff) - yet their prices haven't blown up by 8x for some reason…

As I mentioned the lines are still long at the fast food joints I see around here. Maybe some buyers have traded down from sit down food to fast food. The regular fast food eaters are still eating there. Once customers quit patronizing the ff joints they may consider lowering prices. Charging what the market will bear is good business.

 

[Cavedweller]

Compare that to what a burger costs and the conclusion is that a burger always costs the same no matter where you are, if only you convert from cash to time.

The cost of a burger as some ratio of the average hourly wage may remain the same, and may be similar from market to market, but that is not the same thing as the price of a burger in dollars remaining constant over time. A Whopper did not cost $8.99 last year. That's what we are talking about.