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

Re:Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can... by Workaccount2 on Saturday May 11, 2024 @10:03AM (#40328133)

In a wealthy first world country, it's very difficult to pay a living wage while also keeping prices low. Prices of things we buy are very sensitive to labor costs, so low income earners find themselves on a treadmill where their wage increases get eaten up quickly by cost increases.

The solution would be something like wage crush from the top. The mass of this change wouldn't come from billionaires or the 1%, they are a drop in the bucket compared to the 50-90%.

There are tons of "average" people who got absolutely stacked in the last 5 years. Especially here on HN. They won't raise their hand, it's pretty taboo in this environment, but consumer spending and unrelenting housing prices make it very clear which social classes are fucked and which ones are richer than ever. And it's not billionaires and everyone else.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can... by voisin on Saturday May 11, 2024 @11:12AM (#40328580)

> In a wealthy first world country, it's very difficult to pay a living wage while also keeping prices low.

Is this true? I have repeatedly come across people saying tipping in North America is insane since in most of the rest of the world it isn’t required because restaurants pay living wages to start, and the pricing is on par or less than in North America.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can... by ghaff on Saturday May 11, 2024 @11:15AM (#40328601)

You have to look at exchange rates and relative incomes if you’re comparing US to Europe. (And a service fee is often tacked on in the UK for table service so it’s not unique to the U.)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Americans are choking on surging fast-food prices. "I can... by ghaff on Saturday May 11, 2024 @11:13AM (#40328583)

Essentially any personal service is pretty expensive even for someone of above or even well above average income. Non-dedicated services such as Uber or a car to the airport are certainly more manageable than a private driver just as a restaurant is more manageable than a personal chef.

But anything along these lines is still relatively expensive.

[ Parent | on HN ]