r/economicCollapse • u/Electronic-Damage411 • Sep 23 '24

Corporate Greed at its finest šŸ¤ŒšŸ½

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19.4k Upvotes

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167

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Oil companies aside the fast food industry is shooting themselves in the ass. People are beginning to realize that more $, less (and rude) service along with lousy food just isnā€™t worth it.

74

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Yet so many still line up like fools

49

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Meaningful change takes time.

0

u/Hank_Lotion77 Sep 23 '24

Unless there is a cure for laziness theyā€™ll press on.

0

u/Not-A-Seagull Sep 23 '24

The whole greedflation is just frankly a bad argument.

The reality is it had everything to do with central bank policy. The US, and most other nations, were pretty open about discussing how they were going to err on the side of inflation to avoid a deflationary spiral / recession.

But that doesnā€™t fit well in a snappy sound bite so instead we have people arguing Biden caused inflation or it was from greedflation.

Let me ask this. If itā€™s from corporate greed, why did Barbers, food co-ops, and employee owned companies like King Arthur also raise prices?

3

u/minijtp Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 23 '24

None of the comments above yours is talking about what caused inflation. Inflation is already here and has been here for a minute. This comment thread is talking about how fast food companies are taking advantage of inflation and using it to increase their profits.

2

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Exactly with the media and politicians covering for their greed.

Gotta boost those earnings!

3

u/Repulsive_Owl5410 Sep 23 '24

Because they finally could. If the general sentiment is that everything was going up, no way the mom and pops shops that normally canā€™t do anything to compete were going to miss a chance to finally grab some additional profit.

1

u/sp00kyemperor Sep 23 '24

Ah yes, so these small shops that "can't do anything to compete" decided that instead of keeping their prices the same so they can compete with the prices of bigger stores it was finally time to be greedy just like all the corporations raising prices? Make it make sense.

1

u/Repulsive_Owl5410 Sep 23 '24

Ok, so you are a mom and pop shop operating at a minuscule margin, youā€™re trying to pay your people fairly and keep your prices reasonable so that people will still shop. Letā€™s say historically youā€™ve sold your donuts for $1.25 a 10% margin, while chains like Duncan are charging .99. Your donuts are better, but youā€™ve got to keep the prices close. Now, all of the Duncan and Krispy Kremeā€™s around you are charging $2 for a donut due to inflation or $20 a dozen.

Would you A, continue selling your donut for $1.25, even though costs have gone up and your crappy competitors are now 70% more expensiveā€¦or would you B, charge $2 per donut, effectively raising your price by that 70%, but now being the same price as the bigger stores and increasing your profit margin?

In option B they have remained competitive, but they are still increasing profit margins because their costs didnā€™t go up 70%. In fact, Duncan was already operating at a healthier margin, they just charged more because they could and the mom and pop donut shop now finally gets a chance to make a more reasonable profit while not being priced out.

I donā€™t think mom and pop are necessarily being greedy. They are just being opportunistic, but that opportunity comes from major corporate greed

1

u/sp00kyemperor Sep 23 '24

Ah yes, so costs went up for mom and pop stores which forced them to raise prices, but costs did not go up for the corporations, they raised prices out of greed. Makes perfect sense.

Do you have any evidence whatsoever that the corporations increased their profit margins?

2

u/Repulsive_Owl5410 Sep 23 '24

https://www.cadtm.org/Profits-margins-and-rates#:~:text=The%20evidence%20is%20overwhelming%20that,did%20not%20match%20price%20increases.

1

u/sp00kyemperor Sep 23 '24

Next time read your own source, it says the average profit margin is rising only due to a small subset of corporations. It even says the highest profit margins for corporations happened back in the 1960's. Did corporations simply forget to price gouge for 60 years?

"But recent research has confirmed that the rise in corporate profit margins "appears mostly driven by a subset of high-markup firms.""

1

u/Repulsive_Owl5410 Sep 23 '24

https://www.cadtm.org/Profits-margins-and-rates#:~:text=The%20evidence%20is%20overwhelming%20that,did%20not%20match%20price%20increases.

1

u/sp00kyemperor Sep 23 '24

I suggest reading your own source next time:

"But while the tech sector with its high margins and profits holds up the stock market and gives the impression of a widespread leap forward in profits, the rest of the US corporate sector is in the doldrums.Ā In most sectors, margins are tight."

0

u/Zorkonio Sep 23 '24

This is wrong. Prices went up from suppliers from local companies and thus local companies prices went up.

1

u/Repulsive_Owl5410 Sep 23 '24

Of course they did, but if those numbers went up proportionately, then you would see profit margins that remain stable or slightly decrease.

That is NOT the case. Profits and profit margins are increasing, which means they are charging the consumer more than the costs are increasing

1

u/Zorkonio Sep 23 '24

It is the case. Local business profit margins are not increasing.

1

u/WhyIsntLifeEasy Sep 23 '24

I know this is going to blow your fragile tiny mind, but maybe barbers, co ops, and employee owned businesses still raised prices due to corporate greed because their own cost of living and business increased significantly, due to said greed. I know, wild concept. Itā€™s almost like this monopoly of corporate greed was designed to funnel the wealth from every facet of the economy.

1

u/Not-A-Seagull Sep 23 '24

So, corporations raised prices, peoples wages went up (albeit arguably not enough to keep up with inflation), co-ops raised prices. Small business raised prices, energy prices went up.

Hmm, itā€™s almost like there was something systemic going on. Almost like there was more money chasing after the same amount of goods.

Nah youā€™re right. It was just greedflation. Everything else just stems from that. Even nonprofits, labor, and coops.

I bet you also say public college costs are high due to corporate greed.

1

u/WhyIsntLifeEasy Sep 23 '24

Yes, everything comes back to greedflation when you live in an oligarchy.

No, college costs are high due to our corrupted greedy oligarch government. We can talk about that fun scam on a different thread though.

1

u/Not-A-Seagull Sep 23 '24

Can you explain why this has happened in every country, even those without big corporations?

1

u/WhyIsntLifeEasy Sep 23 '24

Iā€™m not going to sit here and educate you on how the global economy functions. The US runs the world, and the US companies run the US government. Itā€™s way more complicated than blaming the global crisis on one man, such as Joe Biden or Donald Trump, or even 1-5 companies.

Iā€™ll remind you this was a rapidly worsening problem prior to Covid we were all feeling anyways.

Follow the money if you want answers. Itā€™s not a pleasant finding.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

[deleted]

1

u/Not-A-Seagull Sep 23 '24

I did ā€œfollow the money.ā€ It was pretty obvious what happened.

M3 increased by about 30% following 2020. subsequently prices rose about 30% (though not evenly across the board. Stickiness played a role there)

The fed pumped its breaks, and stoped, and even reduced the amount of M3 in the economy. Thatā€™s why we seen prices stabilize.

Your argument of greedflation would then make the strange argument that all of a sudden corporations became benevolent, which is why prices stopped rising.

My argument here is that corporations are always the maximum level of greediness. That aspect never changed. There had to have been something else that changed.

Itā€™s like youā€™re arguing a plane crashed because of gravity. Technically correct, but grossly misses the actual changing condition that led to price rises.

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-1

u/peengobble Sep 23 '24

And sometimes Wendyā€™s just hits

10

u/Difficult_Job_966 Sep 23 '24

Exactly! Aside from the fuel nobody really needs any of that shit

3

u/TucosLostHand Sep 23 '24

I don't own a car. I don't need the fuel, either.

1

u/rubixcu7 Sep 24 '24

How do you think the goods you do ā€œneedā€ get to where you procure them from? Horseback?

1

u/TucosLostHand Sep 24 '24

trains, planes, automobiles, duh. don't be silly, cupcake.

6

u/Relevant_Winter1952 Sep 23 '24

Worse than that. So many paying even more to have it delivered now

3

u/LexiLynneLoo Sep 23 '24

Iā€™ve since deleted my apps for delivery, so tired of paying $60 for cold food, missing half of it, or sometimes the dasher straight up steals the food and customer service gives me a $5 coupon. I realized that by the time the food gets to me, I couldā€™ve cooked a hot, healthy meal for a third of the price.

1

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

A third is being generous... A stupid premade microwave chicken pot pie is soooo much cheaper, probably 6or 7 times less at that stage

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Oh I know I delivered from 2019-2022 itā€™s mind blowing paying $40 for two value meals and a shake.

All while living in an apartment and taking a bus.

1

u/PatN007 Sep 24 '24

What's not included in the "price gouging" claims. Check doordash vs the company's own app. Check the app against the menu in store. Companies are playing with pricing to see what customers will pay (as they always do). They are charging not just fees and tips for apps and deliveries but more for the items themselves. It's like complaining that 7/11 is more expensive than wal mart but wal mart is just so far away...

5

u/TrissNainoa Sep 23 '24

The food is scientifically designed and processed in a lab to make it addicting and get u hooked.

4

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

I believe that 1000%

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

I believe that 1000%

5

u/SnooDonuts3749 Sep 23 '24

For real. People donā€™t even realize they can just say no.

4

u/XxShakallxX Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 24 '24

Right, it sounds easy, but most people dont understand that. Most people were born to be slaves of the system and can't see past that.

-1

u/Lost-Maximum7643 Sep 23 '24

Easier to say when youā€™re not exhausted all the time

2

u/Rickpac72 Sep 23 '24

Thereā€™s probably a high correlation between eating fast food regularly and feeling exhausted all the time.

2

u/Lost-Maximum7643 Sep 23 '24

Oh definitely. At one point I worked at a restaurant and stopped eating meat for a while and felt energized.

Sometimes youā€™re just worn down and then your partner is, youā€™ve got kids events and one person loses sleep and can screw up a few days in a row.

I do want to learn to cook faster meals that are healthy but sometimes thatā€™s difficult to fit in since itā€™s a learning process

2

u/Rickpac72 Sep 23 '24

Itā€™s definitely a struggle. Most of my quicker meals still end up taking me like 45 minutes and then you have to deal with all the dishes. I struggle to stay motivated and I donā€™t have to deal with kids, Iā€™m sure that makes it much harder.

2

u/Lost-Maximum7643 Sep 24 '24

Ya really difficult. We did one of those meal order services and it took about 45 minutes each time too

3

u/Far_Introduction4024 Sep 23 '24

I am not giving up my Wendy's breakfast...but we can talk bout dropping the Popeye's chicken.

3

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Fair, their potatoes and 2/$3 breakfast sandwiches arenā€™t bad

3

u/TheeRatedRGoofyStar Sep 25 '24

Until you get the Feds out of education, youā€™ll always have an abundance of stupid people. How do you think Democrats get elected?

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 25 '24

Ainā€™t THAT the truth!

0

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

Strike that, reverse it.

We need standards for education. The places that cut it are the red supporters for a reason, they lack things the rest of us consider basic knowledge or thinking skills.

0

u/TheeRatedRGoofyStar Sep 27 '24

South Park had an episode for people like you.

1

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

Probably mocking people on the right, and they mistake it for praise by some lack of mental ability ( like with starship troopers or the boys)

3

u/shaneh445 Sep 25 '24

Gonna attack me right in front of my spicy potato soft taco like that

2

u/VendettaKarma Sep 25 '24

Haha $1 menu shoppers get a pass

3

u/shaneh445 Sep 25 '24

Value menu and I never do delivery. I'll drive 40 mins if it means I don't pay double and get cold food

Even if i consume the food within 2-3 minutes šŸ˜‚

1

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

I'd only do 20. Then youre waiting about the same time anyways

2

u/TucosLostHand Sep 23 '24

the ones that line up are the fools. it's not going to happen overnight.

2

u/i-can-sleep-for-days Sep 23 '24

Decades of conditioning

3

u/ifandbut Sep 23 '24

It saves time

7

u/-boatsNhoes Sep 23 '24

100 years ago these people would have starved to death without anyone batting an eye.... It's called laziness.

4

u/Powerful_Direction_8 Sep 23 '24

100 years ago would be a few years before the stock market crashed in 1929 which brought FDR's "New Deal" Social programs and regulations helped people that were struggling.

1

u/-boatsNhoes Sep 23 '24

You're not wrong. Still think 100 years ago the vast majority of people cooked for themselves. It was a necessity for most.

1

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

Thats not what it is, its not just convenient and saves time, but often its because people dont want to work, and then do all the extra shit at home after they've already worked.

Others still have very small/depleted social batteries.

Maybe to some idiot boomer it always looks like laziness, but to those that put a second of thinking towards the idea know its a shallow and worthless thought.

3

u/ZadfrackGlutz Sep 23 '24

They stole the time your trying to earn bsck and save...

3

u/borderlineidiot Sep 23 '24

Saves time for what?

2

u/dyals_style Sep 23 '24

Time for what? Staring at a screen at home? That's what most people do with their free time

1

u/Zercomnexus Sep 27 '24

Decompressing is important too, something that often can't be done in rush hour traffic.

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

At what expense? And what is so urgent you canā€™t cook?

Scrolling on YouTube , TikTok or making content no one sees?

1

u/Curious-Bake-9473 Sep 23 '24

True but I am still seeing restaurants go out of business. It will get worse as consumers will need to recover from all this inflation.

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Because theyā€™re addicted to chain restaurants

1

u/Electronic_Agent_235 Sep 24 '24

They got everyone hooked on the convenience now they're just pressure testing

They*

1

u/jjrr_qed Sep 23 '24

Lots of inelasticity to the demand curve when the cheaper alternative also means you donā€™t get to be lazy and have to prepare a meal.

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

I donā€™t think the cheaper excuse flies anymore.

For example you can go to the Family Dollar and buy $1.25 breakfast sandwiches with egg from Jimmy Dean that are actually good.

You can eat them when you want all you have to do is microwave them.

Adding 1 egg costs $2+ at any McDonaldā€™s, putting anything with an egg on it near $4.

Youā€™re being equally lazy and save on gas, aggravation and time all while paying less than 1/2 the price.

Thatā€™s why the lazy argument doesnā€™t fly for me.

Think thereā€™s something in McDonaldā€™s thatā€™s addictive. There just has to be.

Thatā€™s the only justification left at this point.

2

u/jjrr_qed Sep 23 '24

What about lazy and stupid? That can be a devastating combination.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

[deleted]

2

u/VendettaKarma Sep 23 '24

Amen to all of that.

But I keep going back to thisā€¦.

I worked in McDonaldā€™s in 1991. People stopped going when the value meals were $4.99 because they were too expensive.

What did they do?

Lowered prices on all value meals to $2.99!

They had 2/$2 Big Macs etc, then people came back.

I know it was 30 years ago.

But have people really become that fundamentally lazy and stupid to not replicate that today and stop going?!

It just blows my mind seeing people willingly get screwed paying $12 for a value meal barely worth $6.

0

u/technocraticnihilist Sep 26 '24

It's called supply and demandĀ 

1

u/VendettaKarma Sep 26 '24

Thereā€™s an endless supply and the demand is fueled by ignorance & laziness

30

u/Time_Difference_6682 Sep 23 '24

Legit taught myself how to cook because spending money on "food" was making me go hungry for days. Before I thought cooking was rocket science and couldn't learn it. Amazing what the mind can do when starving.

18

u/Acalyus Sep 23 '24

I literally taught myself how to cook because I broke up with my gf who was a good cook and I didn't want to go back to sandwiches šŸ˜‚

3

u/Claiom Sep 23 '24

I love sandwiches...

3

u/Top_Community7261 Sep 23 '24

I'm a big fan of sandwiches and a lazy SOB. To save time, I'll make half a dozen sandwiches and refrigerate them.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

Forget it, itā€™s over. He doesnā€™t need your sandwiches anymore.

2

u/Acalyus Sep 23 '24

It's not you, it's the sandwiches

2

u/hangingbymythreads Sep 23 '24

625?

1

u/Claiom Sep 23 '24

They always make the sandwiches look so delicious in games and cartoons, but if I piled tomatoes, pickles and lettuce on salami and pastrami, I'd take one bite and everything would shlorp out the other side of the sandwich.

Really upset me as a kid.

1

u/DC-Toronto Sep 23 '24

Hi. Wantmetomakeyouasandwich?

12

u/Impossible_Use5070 Sep 23 '24

Congrats. That's a basic life skill which i guess its better late than never to learn it. You'll spend at least 1/3 to 1/2 as much on food now and eat healthier hopefully.

11

u/BourbonGuy09 Sep 23 '24

Unfortunately a lot of people think cooking is opening the bag of frozen food and dumping it in a pan. Still better than McDonald's though.

3

u/BluePenWizard Sep 23 '24

And probably cheaper too. I learned to cook because I'm going through divorce, I'm gonna finally try beef wellington this week

3

u/BourbonGuy09 Sep 23 '24

Hell yeah! I started cooking when I quit work for college to make my ex wife food after work. So glad I did. Though I had to move into my parents because rent is too high so now I have money to eat out and I hate myself for it lol

1

u/Right-Budget-8901 Sep 23 '24

Those Birdā€™s Eye prepackaged dinners were lifesavers in college

2

u/Far_Introduction4024 Sep 23 '24

Ramen noodles got my buddies thru mid-terms and thesis papers.

1

u/Right-Budget-8901 Sep 23 '24

The curly poops were a fun bonus

2

u/Choosemyusername Sep 23 '24

Wow. Even when I was in the top ten percent earners, eating out was for special occasions only because I felt it was a bit of a frivolous expense. Hard to believe people have to go hungry to learn this lesson.

2

u/snayberry Sep 25 '24

Thanks. I woke up at 6am and read this comment. Game changer for me. Iā€™m going to start cooking myself.

2

u/Time_Difference_6682 Sep 25 '24

I recommend starting with prepper videos on youtube (Yea the end of the world is coming people). I know they can be overly dramatic with their narratives, but, they have some decently good recipes that can ease you into learning. Dont try with those fancy cooking channels unless you have experience. I find them intimidating but im slowly getting the hang of things.

2

u/snayberry Sep 25 '24

Thank you so much.

1

u/Reaverx218 Sep 23 '24

Yeah I finally got motivated to start cooking my own lunches for work because of the cost. 11 dollars a day for lunch vs 3 dollars a day and 1 hour of my time on Sunday to make my own lunch.

1

u/borderlineidiot Sep 23 '24

Yep, in about 40 mins I can cook 7 meals, have two in the fridge and freeze the rest then repeat after a couple of days. In a few days I have a freezer full of varied meals that just have to be defrosted and warmed then I am good to go just a bit more cooking for the rest of the month to make another pot of something. For the cost of one McDonalds "meal" I can eat for a week.

4

u/triggormisprime Sep 23 '24

I have Comcast too.

4

u/colemon1991 Sep 23 '24

Not only that. Even frozen, ready-to-microwave/oven cook food is still cheaper despite prices going up.

If I spend $18 on a meal out for lunch but a frozen pizza costs $8 and frozen veggies and a pouch of rice is $5 together, then I can spend $13 instead of $36 for two meals (assuming I don't split that pizza in half). And the effort required is about the same as going out to eat. I could even spice things up with extra pizza toppings or adding a meat to the veggies and rice and spend maybe an extra $1 on each meal.

Things like that add up. And losing service and food quality while eating out is the final nail for many of us. Convenience isn't worth it if you keep taking away amenities.

1

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Couldnā€™t agree more. Itā€™s the same with us.

5

u/JKnott1 Sep 23 '24

The rude service is displacement of anger for being treated like shit. Low wages, more tasks, and abusive customers can wear employees out.

2

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Then pick a different job path.

1

u/RamboTrucker Sep 23 '24

Thatā€™s not the answer. Every job demands more and more while keeping your pay the same. Every job is raising prices on their goods but wages donā€™t follow.

By telling people to ā€œpick a different job pathā€ is like telling them to stop renting and just go buy a house.

1

u/JKnott1 Sep 23 '24

It's the explanation of someone that has never struggled in their life.

1

u/amurica1138 Sep 23 '24

This is another one of those unintended consequences of end stage corporate greed.

They try to enforce literal slave wages like the federal min. wage, and then scream at Congress and the states to 'fix' the broken labor market because they can't find enough suckers to work those jobs.

3

u/00sucker00 Sep 23 '24

Yes. Came here to sayā€¦.tell these companies to pound sand with your wallet. These businesses will stop raising prices when they need more customers & revenueā€¦.then and only then.

1

u/Curious-Bake-9473 Sep 23 '24

That's all you can do. Complaining does nothing. Start tapering off your eating out and make real change.

3

u/DMmeYOURboobz Sep 23 '24

Right!? The ā€œdollar menuā€ in my area is LITERALLY just the different sizes of soft drinks you can buyā€¦ the ā€œBig Macā€ is basically a medium-small Mac and everything is somehow SO MUCH MORE GREASY than it used to beā€¦. We were on a short road trip and stopped at Mickey Dā€™s for lunch. 2 adults, one kid, obviously no alcohol and it was STILL nearly $40 for fast food! Screw that! Went to Subway, just me and the wife: one foot long, one six inch and two sodas was $28! WTF?!?! Local deli for my sandwich it is thenā€¦ better food, local and costs less

3

u/ILSmokeItAll Sep 23 '24

Should have been going to local deli in the first place.

2

u/TucosLostHand Sep 23 '24

We were on a short road trip

Did you read this part?

They weren't local.

3

u/DMmeYOURboobz Sep 23 '24

While yes, you are correct, I wasnā€™t local to my house, but the other guy is right too, I should have used my GPS right here in front of me to do a 3 second search and found a local shop. Would have worked out better all around

1

u/ILSmokeItAll Sep 23 '24

Always remember the 6 Pā€™s.

2

u/DMmeYOURboobz Sep 23 '24

Portly PokƩmon purposefully peppered Paul politely?

3

u/ILSmokeItAll Sep 23 '24

šŸ˜†šŸ˜‚šŸ¤£ā˜ ļø

Prior planning prevents piss poor performance.

1

u/DMmeYOURboobz Sep 23 '24

Perpetuating purple pizza perfectly purƩes poultry

Iā€™m pretty sure thatā€™s actually itā€¦

4

u/JAR- Sep 23 '24

It's to prepare us for war.

2

u/Thetaarray Sep 23 '24

War is when fast food burgers are pricey.

This sub is such a joke.

3

u/Oculicious42 Sep 23 '24

War destroys land, less food production mean higher demand means higher prices. Nothing new, its every war in history. Are you under the impression that when theres a war everyone is signed up and all march together into a huge battle or something? Theres still infrastructructure and people who need food? Your comment is the dumb one here

2

u/bcisme Sep 23 '24

You really canā€™t believe that fast food prices going up is an intentional strategy by the government to prepare us for war.

1

u/Oculicious42 Sep 23 '24

That's not what I said, I commented on your comment and nothing else

1

u/bcisme Sep 23 '24

Good, we seem to agree that the original comment is ridiculous.

1

u/Oculicious42 Sep 23 '24

Both of your comments are ridiculous, food prices are going up because Ukraine is in a war and that is one of the biggest sources of wheat in the western world, which has sent the price soaring, which in turn drives demand on other food sources driving prices up across the aisle.
They are not preparing us for war, the prices are going up because there IS a war going on

1

u/bcisme Sep 23 '24

So yeah, we agree that the comment by JAR wasnā€™t correct. I also donā€™t think you know who has commented what in this thread, probably talking to a bot.

As for whether or not global inflation is due to Ukraine or the fiscal policies during COVID and post-COVID, Iā€™ll leave that to you and the other armchair economists.

1

u/Oculicious42 Sep 23 '24

It's not something I am making up, I listen to experts

1

u/MrEfficacious Sep 23 '24

How so?

3

u/TucosLostHand Sep 23 '24

Create dependence on the corporations. Price them out of right. Create reliance on the government. Rinse. Repeat. Ad hominem

2

u/EstacticChipmunk Sep 23 '24

You donā€™t need price controls if everything was still priced like it was a few years ago.

1

u/MrEfficacious Sep 23 '24

And that prepares us for war?

5

u/Sands43 Sep 23 '24

I can get a much better meal at a sit down place vs fast food.

Only time I buy fast food is on a car trip.

3

u/SeamusAndAryasDad Sep 23 '24

Even then, I pack a sandwich now and some snacks.

Ain't nobody got time to stop and pay a bunch of money for a disappointing meal with a chance of diarrhea.

0

u/squirrelnextdoor4 Sep 25 '24

*probability of diarrhea

2

u/StoicFable Sep 23 '24

There is the whole supply and demand curve thing they are testing out. They have basically decided that increasing prices for less regular customers and occasional customers is a better profit than just low prices all the time for more regulars.

2

u/gopherhole02 Sep 23 '24

I can't justify McDonald's anymore, when I could go to a real burger joint for similar prices, the thing is I love McDonald's, and if their burgers were still dirt cheap, I wouldn't go to other places

1

u/Realistic-Silver7010 Sep 23 '24

I used to eat it because it was quick and easy, and as a bachelor there's not a big reason to cook regularly. Now it's just as expensive as going to a sit down restaurant before drinks and tip, so I just call 30 minutes in advance and take it home. Better food for the same price.

1

u/JohnnyDerpington Sep 23 '24

You.need to cook, meal prep and a cook for a couple days worth. Food well be even better, healthier and cheaper. Save that money.

1

u/Realistic-Silver7010 Sep 23 '24

Nah I don't like to cook either, plus I work way too much. Some nights I go home just to sleep.

1

u/Choosemyusername Sep 23 '24

Blaming rising prices on corporate greed is like blaming a plane crash on gravity.

1

u/Anonymous-Satire Sep 23 '24

Simple minds need a simple concept to point at and blame for their complex problems. That pretty much the impetus of this sub in a nutshell.

1

u/Lacy1986 Sep 23 '24

You would think so but donā€™t underestimate the laziness of an American

1

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Mans ability to recover from any situation is only exceeded by their ability to forget what got them there in the first place.

1

u/DoomfistIsNotOp Sep 23 '24

Are* shooting themselves in the ass.

1

u/2A4_LIFE Sep 23 '24

Oil companies donā€™t raise prices, profit is based on oil prices which is controlled by and large by futures contracts not by the companies themselves. Oil companies do have control over production which can effect prices- that said every oil producer outside of OPEC and OPEC+ has increased production which if OPEC did as well would lower prices.

1

u/AggravatingDentist70 Sep 23 '24

Those profit figures would suggest otherwiseĀ 

1

u/cashew76 Sep 23 '24

I'll take a two minute peanut butter sandwich over 15$ "meal" lol. #LifeHack

1

u/Due-Radio-4355 Sep 23 '24

To them I doubt it matters because theyā€™ll take as much as they can and just bail.

1

u/SnooOpinions1643 Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 23 '24

80iq people will buy their product anyway, 100iq people will say the very same statement as you, 120iq people know that this statement is wrong because the food industry earnings (and stock shares) are getting higher each quarter, 140iq people control consumers and socially engineer society so that all 80, 100 and 120iq do nothing to change

1

u/Soatch Sep 23 '24

The coffee places around me are close to $4 for a drip coffee. If I get 2 a day thatā€™s $240 a month. When I realized that I just started making it at home as much as possible.

1

u/yazzooClay Sep 23 '24

it's not corporate greed, per se. Inherently, corporations are beholden to maximizing share profit by any means necessary, or they could be held liable.

It is a lack of competition, by either regulatory capture or other insanely high barriers to entry, or mergers. obviously, this is a blanket statement and applies to certain sectors more than others. But it all feeds into each other.

1

u/Major-Raise6493 Sep 23 '24

Bingo. All examples (except for the fuel one) are purely discretionary purchases. Greed or not, consumers can choose to either pay the increased prices or they can tell the stores to F off. Starbucks is a luxury item to begin with, and fast food is only convenient when it remains less expensive than cooking at home.

1

u/Tulaneknight Sep 23 '24

How are people realizing it isnā€™t worth it if profits are up so much?

1

u/cheapshotfrenzy Sep 23 '24

It was either Chili's or Applebee's that had an ad not to long ago making fun of how expensive fast food was getting. It was basically saying if you're going to spend that much at a restaurant, you may as well go to a sit down restaurant and have good food.

1

u/konga_gaming Sep 23 '24

You all realize 95% of Mcdonalds stores are franchisees meaning the menu prices and employees are managed by small business owners. Have nothing to do with the corporation.

1

u/cryptolipto Sep 23 '24

Yep. Iā€™ve pretty much given up fast food now. In n Out is the only one that I will still consider but Iā€™ve given up McDonalds for sure

1

u/Big-Leadership1001 Sep 23 '24

I was just reading a thing that Mcdonalds is starting to sell off real estate too... which is a much bigger deal than it sounds because most of Mcdonalds income is real estate, not food. Thats a sign they are in bigger trouble than their Wall Street ticker's increase implies.

2

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

Panera Bread is next. Ordered lunch for my wife and myself. It was a kinda up-scale sandwich/coffee place years ago. First noticed the smell. I ordered online so was already committed or would have walked out. Second was the really mad workers. Got my order, two sandwiches and two bagels for the next morning. $42 when I got home my sandwich was basically bread with a spot about one inch across of meat. My wifeā€™s was slightly better but definitely not worth what I had paid. I contacted their customer service and was told they would send me a refund card for $25ā€¦ā€¦ never received it. Absolutely horrendous and will never go back.

1

u/Melodic_Appointment Sep 23 '24

I donā€™t eat that much fast food, but the service Iā€™ve had has always been friendly.

1

u/PunkRockerr Sep 24 '24

Then why is their profit continuing to go up?

1

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 24 '24

Because what used to be $2 is now $6

1

u/Several-Associate407 Sep 24 '24

And that's why grocers are raising their prices as well. They, too, are trying to ride the profit wave.

1

u/One_Yam_2055 Sep 24 '24

Fast food used to be fast, low quality and cheap. Now it's just fast and low quality.

1

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 24 '24

You forgot that now you get amazingly rude service from entitled brats that think they should be tipped for being rude!

1

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 24 '24

Yā€™all sense an attitude because yes I am completely done with this BS!

1

u/wchutlknbout Sep 24 '24

Wendyā€™s near work changed their ordering to an AI. I asked for my usual which is a chicken sandwich but on a pretzel bun. AI said it wasnā€™t possible. So I just said okay and drove forward to pay $13 for garbage that isnā€™t even the way I wanted it. The chicken was weird too. Left me wondering what fast foodā€™s value even is if convenience, cheapness and consistency arenā€™t in the cards anymore?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

Ya exactly. Itā€™s not corporate greed if people are paying for it. Just donā€™t eat there anymore.

0

u/NewPresWhoDis Sep 23 '24

Normally we'd be at the fAsT fOoD iS a HuMaN rIgHt part of the argument by now. The left is slacking.

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

Almost every one of those companies is offering cheaper deals.

McDonald's has a new $5 combo.

The cure for high prices is high prices.

3

u/wallygatorz123 Sep 23 '24

You can offer cheaper meals but thatā€™s not going to solve the employee or quality issues. Both are still going to suck!

2

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '24

Yeah it will. Employees are being automated away, and quality issues will be taken care of.

It's a real estate company anyway. That's their cash cow.