CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – You and I would both be healthier if we ate less fast food. I get it. It’s an easy and convenient and inexpensive meal.
Only in many parts of the country, it’s not inexpensive any more.
Here are three quick points from California. They’re all intertwined.
First, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that raised the minimum wage for fast food workers in California to $20 an hour last month. That’s grossly unfair to McDonalds and other fast food operators. Those jobs were never intended to support a family… they were part time jobs for high school kids after school. A fast food franchisee should not be penalized because our job market has so many low skilled workers who can’t do anything else but drop the fries and flip the burgers.
Second, in most California cities the number 1 value meal – a Big Mac, fries, and a soft drink now costs $16. Labor costs are up, so prices are up too.
Lastly, the flagship McDonalds in San Francisco on Front Street closed last week. The manager said the restaurant was not profitable since the COVID shutdown, with so many downtown workers not in their offices. But he says the losses have continued, and show no signs of changing in the near-term or the intermediate-term. Closing down last weekend stems the losses instead of dragging out the red ink over months and years.
So, clearly the solution is to raise the fast food minimum wage to $25, give the poor vouchers to eat there, and offer rent subsidies to keep the inner city McDonalds open.
Brilliant! That makes perfect sense!
Chris Conley
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