America's French Fry King Sounds an Alarm

Wednesday, October 09, 2024

Americans are revolting against McDonald's and fast-food chains. That's hurting french fry suppliers like Lamb Weston.

Posted by gracieamazed at 12:31 PM | 17 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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America's french fry king sounds an alarm on inflation

Thought this was going to be another Trump article.

#1 | Posted by censored at 2024-10-08 07:24 PM | Reply | Funny: 3

... Americans are revolting against McDonald's and fast-food chains. ...

From a link in the cited article...

... Inflation has caught up with McDonald's, and budget-conscious Americans are looking elsewhere for their fast-food fix. But McDonald's believes it has a solution: Value meals.

McDonald's on Monday reported that sales at US stores open at least a year fell 0.7% last quarter from the same period a year earlier, dragged down by fewer customers going to the fast-food company's restaurants.

McDonald's isn't alone: Starbucks, Burger King, Wendy's and other rivals are also reporting less foot traffic and lower overall sales as consumers pull back their spending on food away from home. ...

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-08 07:56 PM | Reply

... Restaurant prices in recent years have increased faster than grocery store prices, leading customers to pull back at fast-food chains. ...

Not just fast food, but, in my experience, also a few steps up the quality ladder.

For example, there's a local food joint (I won't call it a restaurant, nor will I call it fast-food. )

It used to sell high-quality hamburgers for $6. Quite good half-pound hamburgers. They owned the butcher shop that supplied them. Yeah, local.

Now, when I look at their menu, a burger is $15.

Add in the fries and a brew, and you'll be lucky to get out the door for less than $30.

So, yeah, eating out has become more expensive.

Is it that evil "inflation" or is it that the restaurants are finally paying their workers living wages?

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-08 08:03 PM | Reply

Is it that evil "inflation" or is it that the restaurants are finally paying their workers living wages?

Big Mac in Switzerland $6.71

Minimum wage in Switzerland $27.66

#4 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-10-09 07:15 AM | Reply

They (most of the fast food industry)
can go and STUFF IT! They've been poisoning
us with overpriced heat lamp food for the last
half century, and their prices have gotten ridiculous.

Guess what McDonalds, you start charging $15+ a meal,
and suddenly I've found time for that sit down meal of
Pho, or Chinese food.

#5 | Posted by earthmuse at 2024-10-09 01:24 PM | Reply

I worked for a company that previously had an extremely close relationship with Lamb Weston. I won't say what company or what the relationship was because I've previously been threatened with legal action but if someone were to look up the LW wiki page they could probably figure it out.
I'm not saying LW performs this practice but I will say that a company that may/may not be the one I referenced above, especially in their potato farms/processing facilities, heavily relied on undocumented labor. It was somewhere in the range of 40-70% depending on facility location.
The organization itself boasts of their hiring practices and how they do not hire undocumented. That is technically true but they outsource their labor to third-party companies. If someone were to sort through all of the layers of obfuscation then they just might find that those third-parties are frequently owned or at least heavily invested in by the executives/biggest investors of the company.
If a person happens to be anti-immigrant then they might be inclined to applaud a drop in business for companies that engage in such practices seeing as less employment opportunities for undocumented workers means fewer undocumented immigrants would be tempted to enter the country.

#6 | Posted by johnny_hotsauce at 2024-10-09 01:55 PM | Reply

This has been going on for some time. My Gen Z aquaintances's informed me about how the thing in their generation is more a my place or your place thing and not going out a "third place". They get together and cook and play games and what not. Don't get me wrong we did that too - but even if we didn't go out to the restaurant, we ate and then "pre-partied" before going to a club, bar or other event. They don't even do that now - all they do is hang out at each others place. As for gaming... We did that too just not board (or rather bored) games. If it wasn't on a computer it involved cards.

The thing is the sky high prices are driving everyone else away from going out now. We went to a "nicish" local Italian restaurant this weekend - they have a nice garden you can dine in. A glass of wine was $14 for something we pay $8-9/bottle for. Beers were still $6 which was acceptable. Anyhow two of us all in with appetizer and desert was $114. That same place used to be $65-70 for that before COVID.

#7 | Posted by GalaxiePete at 2024-10-09 03:41 PM | Reply

Greedy price gouging corporations Kamala's coming for you! I almost want her to win so that when she accomplishes nothing except pay off her big donors I can say I told you so.

#8 | Posted by visitor_ at 2024-10-09 10:38 PM | Reply

French fry company is having trouble paying it's bills?

Has it even tried not eating breakfast?

#9 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-10-10 07:17 AM | Reply

"Is it that evil "inflation" or is it that the restaurants are finally paying their workers living wages?"

Companies can't (not won't) pay living wages if the customer is not willing to bear the cost.

And honestly, why does a 16-year-old high school kid need a living wage? Activists demanding that they do will ensure that high school kids are no longer able to get jobs.

To put it differently, mandating that employers pay a living wage ensures that those whose labor value is below that amount are no longer legally employable.

#10 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-10-10 04:24 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

Companies can't (not won't) pay living wages if the customer is not willing to bear the cost.

And honestly, why does a 16-year-old high school kid need a living wage? Activists demanding that they do will ensure that high school kids are no longer able to get jobs.

To put it differently, mandating that employers pay a living wage ensures that those whose labor value is below that amount are no longer legally employable.

#10 | Posted by madbomber

They totally can pay a living wage and not raise prices. Literally prices all over the country and in other countries prove it. See #4

And how many people working there are 16? There are a TON of people working there who are adults and use it as their only source of income. We're talking 30, 40, 50 year olds.

And that last line is ridiculous. I can barely think of anyone whose labor value is worth less than a living wage. Maybe special needs individuals?

#11 | Posted by Sycophant at 2024-10-10 04:30 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

They totally can pay a living wage and not raise prices. Literally prices all over the country and in other countries prove it. See #4.

Hmm. How much time have you spent in Switzerland? I'm guessing none. Feel free to correct me.

#12 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-10-10 05:06 PM | Reply

"And how many people working there are 16? There are a TON of people working there who are adults and use it as their only source of income. We're talking 30, 40, 50 year olds."

OK. And the labor markets recognize age as being indicative of labor value? Walk me though that.

#13 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-10-10 05:08 PM | Reply

"And that last line is ridiculous. I can barely think of anyone whose labor value is worth less than a living wage. Maybe special needs individuals?"

Well, you'd need to understand economics to figure this out. You might need to go to college, but I'll try to explain this in a way you can understand.

You have a lawn. You have a driveway. If you don't, you are likely close to someone who does. Lawns require mowing, weeding, landscaping, etc. In winter, driveways require snow removal. The person who owns the lawn and driveways is almost always 100% qualified to do landscaping and clear snow. Most would prefer to pay someone to do it. But if the cost of doing so is sufficiently high that the monetary cost is higher than the time cost, then the people who would have been employed to do these tasks are unemployable.

For $n, I'd pay someone to mow my lawn. If the government mandates that I pay someone >$n for that service, then I will do it myself. And the potential employee gets nothing.

Minimum wage is a two-way street. It tells employers that if they want to employ someone, they must pay $n. It also tells employees that, if their labor is not worth $n, they are not legally employable. Market-wise, your opinions on labor value are irrelevant.

#14 | Posted by madbomber at 2024-10-10 05:21 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

So in mad bombers opinion you don't have to pay adults a living wage because there are always children to exploit. You are one hell of a humanitarian.

#15 | Posted by TFDNihilist at 2024-10-11 05:10 AM | Reply

"You are one hell of a humanitarian."

Nah...just a childish ass hole who thinks he's smart.

#16 | Posted by Angrydad at 2024-10-11 06:56 AM | Reply

#4 | Posted by Nixon at 2024-10-09 07:15 AM | Reply | Flag:

A quick query with ChatGPT about those wages, because no way would people dishonestly cherry pick 2 stats and compare the situation to America, right?

No Official Minimum Wage in Switzerland: Switzerland doesn't have a nationwide minimum wage. Minimum wage laws exist only in some cantons, and even these are often higher than in most countries. Comparing Swiss wages to countries with a nationwide minimum wage without considering the cantonal differences creates an incomplete picture.

High Cost of Living: While wages in Switzerland tend to be higher, so is the cost of living. Comparing wages without factoring in living expenses like housing, food, transportation, and healthcare makes the wage seem much larger than it might effectively be when considering day-to-day life.

Social Insurance and Benefits: Swiss wages typically include comprehensive social contributions. Switzerland has a robust social security system, which includes pension schemes (like the AHV/AVS), unemployment insurance, and accident insurance. Additionally, Swiss employers and employees often contribute to private health insurance plans, as healthcare is mandatory but not government-funded directly. This means that total compensation might appear higher, but a portion of that goes toward these mandatory insurances.

#17 | Posted by sitzkrieg at 2024-10-11 08:00 AM | Reply