Featured Image Credit: Credit: TikTok / @topherolive
Topics: McDonalds, Food and Drink
Gerrard Kaonga
McDonald’s has been a fast-food favorite for millions for decades at this point, but prices have noticeably been on the rise recently.
Inflation has hit the world over, but one of the last safe havens for cheap dining was Maccies.
But fans of the iconic restaurant have taken to social media to complain about an increase in prices following the pandemic.
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It may be a surprise to learn that economists genuinely do keep a keen eye on the pricing of the items on McDonald’s menu.
According to an index run by the Economist, the nationwide average cost of a Big Mac this summer came to $5.58. This is more than ten percent from the $4.89 in December 2020.
The McDonald's Quarter Pounder also saw an increase as it stood at $5.45 in early October, up from six percent from $5.14 a year earlier, according to an index compiled by the Council for Community and Economic Research.
The group also found the most expensive quarter pounder in the country.
The priciest Quarter Pounder was sold by McDonald's for $8.09 in Billings, Montana, which serves as an entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
The place is likely filled with tourists due to its location and the increase in price may be due to the remote location.
Despite inflation falling for many industries across the country, an increase in pay for workers in the fast-food industry has been one of the reasons blamed for the rise in prices.
“Consider one metric of inequality — the ratio of the 90th-percentile wage (the wage earned by the worker who has higher pay than 90 percent of the workforce) to the 10th-percentile wage. Between 1980 and 2019, this ratio rose enormously by about 34 percent,” Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said.
"But a full third of this 39-year increase has been erased in less than three years after 2019."
He added that the 10th-percentile hourly wage was $12.57 in 2022, which is up nine percent during that three-year period.
"If this inequality reduction sticks, it could well be the single most important development in the economy in decades,” he continued.
The simple increase in prices to McDonald’s prices has resulted in some diners insisting the fast-food giant is no longer affordable.
TikToker and aspiring strongman Christopher Olive went viral after his video complaining about the cost of a meal that cost him $16.10.
In the clip, he says: "So I get there's a labour shortage, I get there's wage increases and a number of other things but... sixteen dollars?
"Sixteen dollars for a burger, a large fries and a drink. It's just crazy."
UNILAD has contacted McDonald's for a comment.