Current:Home > Stocks$25 McDonald's bundle in viral video draws blame for California minimum wage hike-LoTradeCoin
$25 McDonald's bundle in viral video draws blame for California minimum wage hike
View Date:2024-12-23 23:00:07
A fast food run ain't what it used to be.
A TikTok video of a customer complaining about the price of a $25 deal at a California McDonald's has sparked blame for the state's latest minimum wage increase for fast food workers.
Since going into effect on April 1, the law requires chains with 60 or more restaurants nationwide to offer workers a $20 an hour starting wage, up from the previous $16 standard.
The viral video shows the frustrated customer at a Southern California drive-thru venting as she calls the price of the "40-piece chicken McNuggets bundle" absurd. The combo comes with four containers of 10 piece nuggets and two large fries for $25.39 plus a sales tax, which she calls "McFlation."
"OK, so it's $25.39 for 40-piece nuggets and two large fries," the customer said in the video. "You couldn't even throw in a medium Sprite in there? Holy crap."
McDonald's $12 dinner box:Woman goes viral with hack that feeds family of 5. Can you get one?
Price was higher than SoCal average, McDonald's says
The video's comment section opened a forum for many to blame California's new law for the menu price soar.
However, the price in the TikTok video is higher than the average cost of the 40-piece chicken McNuggets bundle at Southern California locations, according to McDonald's. Prices vary by restaurant and are at the discretion of local franchisees.
A Finance Buzz report found that McDonald’s menu prices have doubled since 2014 across popular items more than any other of the analyzed chains including Starbucks, Taco Bell and Wendy's.
Between 2014 and 2024, the analyzed chains raised prices by 60%, nearly double the national inflation rate, according to the report. McDonald's raised the average menu prices more than three times the national rate.
Fast Act opens way for more fast food regulations
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Assembly Bill 1228 raising the minimum wage back in September. The bill also established a council to develop rules and regulations for the fast food industry.
At a November conference call, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said the company would increase prices to offset the wage increases, as well as cut restaurant costs and improve productivity.
"There will certainly be a hit in the short-term to franchisee cash flow in California," Kempczinski said. 'Tough to know exactly what that hit will be because of some of the mitigation efforts. But there will be a hit."
Kempczinski's salary and bonus package was $19.2 million in 2023, Restaurant Business Magazine reported. Federal securities filings showed that's an 8% increase from 2022.
The company's fourth-quarter net income in 2023 was $2.04 billion, up from $1.9 billion a year earlier, according to reporting by CNBC.
Other chains such as Chipotle also announced menu price raises shortly after the California bill's signing.
Higher prices worth supporting low income people, expert says
While minimum wage increases do lead to higher fast food item costs, the conversation should be about whether they benefit low income people, according to Chris Tilly, a professor who studies labor markets, inequality and public policies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
"The big critique of minimum wages is ultimately it's a job killer that it hurts the people that you're trying to help," he told USA TODAY on Thursday. "But the findings really for the last 30 years or so have said actually the minimum wage has been low enough that we haven't seen those effects."
He urged people to reframe their perspective and said that rising prices at chains like McDonald's can economically hurt people on the lower end of the income spectrum but minimum wage increases should not bear that burden.
He recommended addressing other core issues in the state like housing affordability and labor market barriers.
"We do have to think about how to help people," he said. "But to do that by hurting other low income people doesn't seem like the right strategy to me."
Contributing: Sara Chernikoff
veryGood! (463)
Related
- Solawave Black Friday Sale: Don't Miss Buy 1, Get 1 Free on Age-Defying Red Light Devices
- Midwest braces for severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, 'destructive winds' on Monday
- Doja Cat offers Yetis, mud wrestling and ASAP Rocky as guest in arty Coachella headlining set
- Haiti gang violence escalates as U.S. evacuation flights end with final plane set to land in Miami
- Disruptions to Amtrak service continue after fire near tracks in New York City
- LIV Golf Masters: Results, scores leaderboard for LIV tour as DeChambeau finishes top 10
- Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates have been subjected to sex abuse
- Guide dog nicknamed Dogfather retires after fathering over 300 puppies
- 24 more monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina lab are recovered unharmed
- Wife of ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to transporting stolen human remains
Ranking
- The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
- Judge refuses to dismiss federal gun case against Hunter Biden
- How to tackle crime in Indian Country? Empower tribal justice, ex-Justice Department official says
- Are you a better parent than your mom or dad? My son's question sent me into a spiral.
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- Millions in Colombia's capital forced to ration water as reservoirs hit critically low levels
- Taylor Swift’s Coachella Look Reveals Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce
- Powerball winning numbers for April 13 drawing: Did anyone win $46 million jackpot?
Recommendation
-
Shawn Mendes Confesses He and Camila Cabello Are No Longer the Closest
-
2 bodies found, 4 people arrested in connection to missing Kansas women in Oklahoma
-
2 law enforcement officers shot, killed in line of duty in Syracuse, New York: Police
-
Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright Reunite at Their Son Cruz's 3rd Birthday Party Amid Separation
-
Utah AD Mark Harlan rips officials following loss to BYU, claims game was 'stolen from us'
-
Bureau of Prisons to close California women’s prison where inmates have been subjected to sex abuse
-
Caitlin Clark joins 'Weekend Update' desk during surprise 'Saturday Night Live' appearance
-
Pilot of experimental plane fell out and hit the tail in 2022 crash that killed 2, investigators say