this post was submitted on 31 May 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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This companies are able to generate billions in profit every quarter, let alone every year. They have also been reporting record breaking profits quarter after quarter for the past several years. I'm pretty sure the 17 y/o Burger flippers aren't the problem here.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/gross-profit
[1]Average franchise profitability at Burger King rose nearly +50% last year (2023) compared to 2022
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/SBUX/starbucks/gross-profit
I wonder how da fuq did McDonalds think that this is okay?
Setting aside all considerations of ethics or morality, from a pure greed standpoint even a very naive person could realize that if you squeeze the sheeple too much they may choose to go elsewhere rather than continue to rely on you for easy comfort food.
Do they think they have a monopoly on the market? Even just from the fast-food burger places that were included in this graphic, there are multiple cheaper options - Burger King and Wendy's - plus Arby's & Taco Bell and Chick-fil-a are somewhat similar.
Do they think that people will suddenly not care about where their money is going? That strategy tends to work when you squeeze (bleed) them slowly, but this kind of a sudden spike carries the risk of waking them up to how much eating there is costing them - and once they are gone, it would be very hard to attract them back.
So this strategy even looks to be detrimental to the company of McDonalds, even if good for the short-term stockholders & CEO before they jump elsewhere.
If I had to guess it would be for 2 reasons, humans don't like change so people that frequently go to McD will still go, and that all humans need food and a bonus of less people know how to cook
It's a scary thing to think these companies can just get away with shit like this but at the end of the day until we as a society boycott them - and I mean a legit boycott, not some 3 day reddit boycott - they'll find any excuse to fuck us for profit
People are resistant to change - like inertia - but if pushed enough, they will. Burger King & Wendy's only went up 55% whereas McD went up twice that at +100%. McD could have kept their prices flat and gained business from them, remaining within their brand as the "cheap fast-food" option, but instead they seem poised to lose it? Well, I guess we will see.
Yeah, it is scary to see just how evil they - b/c with profits like you showed, they did not have to increase them all, so the fact that they not only did but did by that much is somewhat shocking.
We're also in a society now where 2 people or 2+jobs are REQUIRED for a "normal life" unless you're a tech or finance bro. People just don't have the energy or time to cook, fast food is often "on the way home" and saves well over an hour and effort.
I'm "lucky" that I'm single, in that I can cook a weeks worth of food in one day and there's no one to complain about "this again?" In literally every other respect being single in this society for over a decade sucks.
Right there.
Double your prices, lose 49% of your customers - youβre winning. And restaurants are less busy? Fewer staff needed? Winnning ($$$$)