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Chart Of The Day: When $0.99 Becomes Unaffordable, We Have A Problem
Earlier today, fast food juggernaut McDonalds reported same store sales for the month October. At -1.8%, this number was well below expectations of -1.1%, and a drop from September's 1.9%. It was driven by a 2%+ drop in comp store sales across all locations: US, Europea and APMEA, with the US performing just as bad as Europe. Most importantly, this was the first monthly drop in MCD comp sales since March 2003! So our question is: at what point does the perpetually self-deluded US population finally admit to itself that when even 99 cent meals are no longer affordable, that this country has a problem?
Charting the last 4 years of McD sales, and eagerly looking forward to 4 more years.
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I'm loving it!
Looks like they will have to reduce the quality of the meat?
In Colorado there's a lot of wild horses causing havoc with fragile ecosystems.
Just a thought.
wild horse meat would be far better for you than the gmo soy and franken meat that is in mcdonalds and other fast food...
Wild horses couldn't drag me to Mickey D's.
Still posting that bullshit link from the The Daily Mail?
http://www.finedivingchicago.com/
I don't think the $0.99 price covers the necessary triple by-pass in middle age.
One of the most relevant and real economic indicators you'll find on ZH or any other like space. Seriously, when the sheep can't afford a dollar meal either out of convenience or necessity, we are not far from third world living standards. The miraculous thing is how far this Banana Republic has gone to shelter the sheep from this reality...So much so, they asked for seconds when it came to the greater reason for their suffering. Therefore, what an AWESOME price to pay for justifying our racial guilt...Which thankfully, I'm exempt of.
You're exempt from racial guilt? Is this because you recognize the very concept as stupid, or because you are an alien from outer space? Anyone who believes in the concept of racial guilt should have some, because there is NO race or ethnicity in existence that doesn't have bloody conflict in its history.
This is happening just as many franchisees have either already or will soon be forced to shell out many McBux to completely renovate their restaurants, in some cases literally tearing down the old one and rebuilding it from scratch, to conform to McDonald's franchise agreement.
It'll take the sale of a lot of McRib Sandwiches & Shamrock Shakes to ROI that.
We are all McFucked.
McFREEgans is the next fad...
McFood isn't even worth much McMoney.
Even though I am professionally employed, I have worked part time at McDs in AK for almost a year due to necessity. Some observations:
Regards,
Cooter
Updte: just found this googling ... have no idea how accurate it is ...
http://vmsd.com/content/mcdonalds-redesign
McDonalds is a franchise operation, so pricing at any given store doesn't NECESSARILY match on any specific item. I suspect prices on everything in AK would be significantly higher because of the cost of shipping the food so far from the manufacturing operations.
In NYC, there are already a good number of "McCafe" layouts. Apparently they're trying to achieve the same success that Starbuck's has had at getting people to just "sit and hang out" in some stores.
It's interesting to note that there is at least one McDonald's with free wifi which still has signs posted that say "SEATING AREA IS AVAILABLE TO PAYING CUSTOMERS ONLY. A TIME LIMIT OF 20 MINUTES MAY BE ENFORCED BY MANAGEMENT."
Truth, that's what they did to the McD I go to, and I don't like the redesign at all. You live in Phoenix? I am talking about the one on 32nd and Shea.
McD's is to "food", what FRN's are to "money"
Not in AZ, FNB, but it's happening nation wide. It's also happening with Taco Bell and other fast makers & sellers of edible, food-like objects. I think it's called the "Let's totally screw over our franchisees" or "Ouch, your balls!" plan.
Pretty much the only fast food place I actually occassionally go to is In'N'Out, when I'm out west and only you guys out west have them. It's the only place that has burgers good enough to justify the occassional sin (way better than 5 Guys, Smashburger or the other hyped shit holes, too).
I hope they don't raise their prices too much, because when I'm out west again, and thinking of going there, I may have to consult the Bureau of Lies & Manipulated Statistics' Hedonic Quality Adjustment in the CPI & be forced to settle for something less expensive.
When times get desperate, big corporations do what they always do; fuck the little guy. HP and Microsoft did this in the tech sector, you crush the franchisee/VAR with massive upkeep/training/building. then make them sell out for pennies on the dollar after they financed all the CAPEX. (Micr0$oft stole all of the customers like rat fuckers, which is a little easier) Why let the franchisee keep a cut, when you can just follow the model of other big chains? Franchises are for suckers, no one would let you take a cut of something that good, unless they are getting one over on you. Mc$$$ will screw all of them the slow way, just like the tax hikes. Clean out every dime, then take them to the glue factory.
GM and Lincoln (deathbed Lincoln) are doing this now, as well.
In order to be designated as a "volume dealer" and get the financial bonuses from the manufacturer that go along with that, several million dollars have to be poured into the dealership in terms of renovations & upgrades. So, those who do this probably will be able to screw over those who don't/can't, because GM will allow them cash they can use to undercut other GM dealers.
speaking of .99 cents got me to thinking about the recent economic boom in my small town in Maricopa Arizona where the local online newspaper highighted new construction and new business starting to grow in our small town of 40,000 (half Canadian winter visitors). They are currently building a .99 cent store and an Arrons rent forever until you may own it store side by side.
Guess .99 cent stores will be the next big stock boom and the rental store will be the next big competitor to walmart. Buy a $199 chinese made flat screen at walmart or rent the same for $1.99 per week forever.
And McDonalds is disgusting food that I wouldn't feed to my dog!
But your dog would love it!
And the Dollar store stock craze started in 08 or 09. I'm sure it'll pick up steam as the world economy takes a dump. Hopefully that isn't from eating too much McDonald's...wouldn't want the world economy to get the runs!
I love the angus burger.
Anus burger? I've never tasted it but it makes sense that's the part of the cow (or possum) they use.
Anyhoo, there's a big BIG DISCOUNT ON GROUPON'D, bitchez!!!
Goodwill Industries International INC. is working on becoming the new WalMart - where else can you buy donated stuffs at close to discount retail prices?
serving their community, building new stores in a town near you!
http://www.goodwill.org/goodwill-for-you/jobs-and-careers/
Cath, we actually just had a new one built by us. I see a lot of people shopping there, the lot tends to have a decent amount of cars most times I drive past.
I like being able to drop stuff off there, but it is more for the selfish feeling of I am not throwing it away than true charity, if we are going to be honest.
There is another place (further away) that accepts more things and is staffed by those who it helps: drug addicts, convicts, etc. I LIKE to actually donate there. I bring the good stuff because it is operated more like a co-opt than a business. That is a place I take the stuff I no longer need but want someone to get use out of it.
pods
it's just another indicator of where the amrkn economy is sliding - "international corporate charity" stores with high paid "business executives" sucking off the top of tax deductible donated items.
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/print-edition/2012/09/28/goodwill-in...
I don't fault anyone for donating stuff they don't want/need - but I do encourage folks to donate to local non-profits, mostly staffed by volunteers who have an interest in serving their communities. . . and I never buy from a corporate "charity" leech business.
Yes, but Goodwill so sooooooooo loose with the tax writeoff reciepts. Think of the CHILDREN!
Charity Navigator is an awesome website that allows you to find out what executives of all "non-profits" are paid. It's guaranteed to make you physically ill.
“I would like to see the Constitution used to protect the country’s full faith and credit,” Pelosi told reporters Wednesday. She was endorsing the idea that Obama should use the 14th Amendment — which states that “The validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned” — to circumvent House Republicans who want spending cuts in exchange for another debt ceiling hike.
we need to protect the FF&C by increasing the credit part of it.
Ugh. Anything Pelosi says is stupid, or communist, or stupid and communist. Dried-up, stupid, and ugly is no way to go through life.
Don't leave out "evil".
Or reptilian.
With catfish lips.
Let them junk it now, but they'll come scrambling for the link when the shit comes down.
Where are the fast food crowd getting their food, then...???
Costco and Sam's, and eating in..??
If this is a trend, then obesity numbers may start declining...
This is an answer to Michelle's prayers!
That assumes she does.
Sam's pizza and hog dogs are not exactly fat free.
MillionDollarBogus gets an automatic /s. It's implied and it's also in his contract.
MDBogus, the people who formerly ate at McDonald's have decided to take their business to the Whole Foods Deli Counter, where shit's gettin' real:
Whole Foods: Shit's Gettin' Real, YoActually no, it's her worst nightmare. If problems get solved by people making their own decisions, who needs the nanny-state?
Where are the fast food crowd getting their food, then...???
Because the economy is improving, more can afford to eat at a more upscale place. Folks selling the cheap stuff benefit when the economy tanks, and suffer when it improves.
Bernanke is that you?
Dumpster diving is cheap and the quality is comparable.
+1 from me just for the King Crimson avatar
Ah...so according to you the economy has improved to the degree that more and more people can now eat at upscale restaurants. Glad we dogded that fiscal cliff!
lol .. MDBesque
So you posit that MCD is a counter-cyclical stock? Because it isn't.
People who eat four times a week at McDonald's would continue to do so if they won the Powerball.
It's not at all 'cheap', by the way, to feed a family of four at McDonald's. It costs about 25 bucks, for which you can eat very nicely at home.
It's not at all 'cheap', by the way, to feed a family of four at McDonald's. It costs about 25 bucks, for which you can eat very nicely at home.
25 bucks for WHAT? A "value meal" for everyone? If you order "the meal" of whatever crap they're foisting off on you, you're ripping yourself off. Not only do you get badly ripped off on the price of the sodas, you also end up paying for WAY too many calories for any normal-sized person.
You can feed a family of 4 at McDonald's for about $12 in my 'hood if you just use your brain a bit. (Although to be fair, if you're eating a lot of McD's food, your brain probably isn't working as well as it could...)
Another point, of course, is that many McDonald's diners are there because it's FAST, moreso than CHEAP. If, like most working Americans, you only have a 30 minute lunch-break, you don't have the time to go home and turn on the stove, but there's probably a McD's nearby which can fill your stomach for $5. That's the crowd I tend to see in those places--guys in construction wear, people wearing name-tags, and folks in various blue workshirts.
Here is a fine repost of a true American showing his eating sensabilities for Mc'D's. A true patriot, but I had a small heart attack just watching it. As the first poster said, wait for the belch at 8 something. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOOhBeewUOE
Yeah, I've seen that guy there, too. Sometimes he brings his wife and a few kids along. They could easily be dropping a few hundred bucks per visit.
On the bright side, we probably won't be paying for this guy's replacement knee in a few decades. A hearty "thank you" to Youtube for helping promote and encourage this sort of behavior. We need one of those concerted campaigns for the good of the country.
Uncle Sam wants YOU to do you part to reduce the deficit: die before retirement age!
You know it's tough when Sam's Club has severely limited the amount of free food sample vendors that used to be statioed at every aisle on the weekend. We used to go shopping and eat lunch at the same time. Sadly those days are gone.
Homer is that you?
UUUHHHMMMM Puuurrple! My favorite.
Starvation tends to do that MDB as well.
These figures do coincide with their voluntary decision to post calorie information on all of their menu boards.
Waddling to McD, KFC was the only exercise the EBT/KFC/SNAP Fred shite army gets. Sitting on a SA free couch, crushing into Section 8 carrpet watching America's Got Talent isn't going to make them thinner.
Anyway, my observation is the working stiff has less money, more God, fuel costs. The disposable cash is becoming critical. People are driving cars longer, until a large repair bill comes and they take the repair money and lease a Kia.
The economic working class above welfare is better off getting 'on the dole ' as the Brits say.
Think of it of the Detroiting of the nation.
You mean the the story which details how the data from both East Anglia and Berkley shows that so-called global warming plateaued fifteen years ago? I don't see that link in my post. It was about McDonald's and wild horses. You must have imagined it like you do with so many other things.
You are truly a reincarnation of Grima Wormtoungue....
Projection...
Hardly.... Ask him if he still posts completely fabricated quotes, he appears to have wised up when I called him out on that...
I still don't see a link in that post.
Be patient, this is fight club, one at a time...
Come on flak, "family style" can be fun?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=family%20style
pods
Prison Sex
OK, this is page four of this thread(for now) and this pissing contest, ostensibly regarding technical analysis of spurious global temperature charts, is still going on. Are you two married and should we care?
Grima likes to post fabricated claims or quotes and since he is such a slippery bastard it sometimes takes while to pin him down...
Sorry for the inconvienience....
I'll call Room Service and have someone over to tidy things up....
Fight Club Rules.
1st RULE: You do not talk about FIGHT CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT talk about FIGHT CLUB.
3rd RULE: If someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over.
4th RULE: Only two guys to a fight.
5th RULE: One fight at a time.
6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes.
7th RULE: Fights will go on as long as they have to.
8th RULE: If this is your first night at FIGHT CLUB, you HAVE to fight.
I will concede that rule #7 is in effect. Procede.
The quote in question was overheard at an AGW conference as was not recorded. That doesn't mean that it was fabricated but I'm willing to let it go by the wayside. Because now even prominent AGW proponets have begun to admit there mistakes. Why don't you address the verified quotes by James Lovelock and Dr. Judith Curry who both state that the models were wrong and so called global warming level off fifeteen years ago?
Answer the fucking two part question or forever loose any respect that you might have here:
Do you still stand by your statment that warming stopped as per
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html
Will you admit that the above article is flawed, intellectually dishonest and deliberately designed to mislead people?
Let me get this straight. It is you who determine whom the ZH community respects and whom they do not respect. Is that right?
Do you still stand by your statment that warming stopped as per
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html
Will you admit that the above article is flawed, intellectually dishonest and deliberately designed to mislead people?
Why would I admit something that is not true? That's your forte. I don't want to step on your toes, which you may have noticed are not squishing around in the overflow of rising seas as the flawed AGW models predicted. It's as if you find the fact that billions aren't going to die from global warming is bad news.
Go lick your master fingers Wormtongue....
Your groups are getting less and less tight as time goes on. Now that's a trend I can recognize.
Whatever Worm... Whatever...
Bored now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZYZyhphazo
Nevermind Flake, Crockett. He loves to dare someone to prove something and by the end of his rants splits his gut and pisses himself.
Then of course......he challenges you......
Ewwwwwww.........scarrrrrrrrred
Oaf is perfect for you...
You couldn't hold Wormtongues jock when it comes to be be a lying snake...
You think you determine anything for ZHers?
I can definately determine for myself, do you not agree...
And would you respect a man that posted said link numerous times and yet refuses to defend his postion on it once confronted with clear evidence of malfeasance...
The liar is cornered and he is ashamed to admit it, so the snake tries to slither away..
Wormtongue is *so* fitting a name for such a person...
I answered that question at least four times in this thread. If you can't follow a simple forum discussion how can you claim a mastery of hundreds of years of climate data? I'm incredulous.
You most certiainly did not....
Ta ta Worm....
For the record in the books Grima does rise up and kill his master with a knife to the throat and is then killed by hobbits with arrows.
Well, whoever his putative master is, it ain't me...
If you are really interested, I'd check with one of Kochs....
IIRC in Unfinished Tales, he sells out Saruman to the Nazgul (The Quest for Erebor)...
The kerosene should be closer to the spit.
Grima Wormtoungue is a fictional character. Just another indication of your inability to separate fact from fiction.
It is a great nickname for you because it is so fitting...
At the very least it's good to see that you enjoy Tolkien even if you don't have a firm grasp of what the man stood for. You do realize that he was an anarchist, don't you?
Do you still stand by your statment that warming stopped as per
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2217286/Global-warming-stopped-16-years-ago-reveals-Met-Office-report-quietly-released--chart-prove-it.html
Will you admit that the above article is flawed, intellectually dishonest and deliberately designed to mislead people?
I agree with Dr. Judith Curry and James Lovelock who have stated that the warming trend ended fifteen years ago and that the AGW models were flawed. How hard is it for you to understand that? The science is settled.
Worm, you posted the article saying that warming had stopped and that the chart proved it...
I posted data below to show how the chart was a deliberate misleading manipulation....
Worm is always trying to change subject, misdirection and obsfuscation...
Now run along Worm, everybody knows that you are a chickenshit...
There you go claiming to speak for "everyone" again.
Looks like you got a fan, Crockett. :)
Unfortunately I think he might be this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM9mzPjcB_M
Naw. He's not that well put together. He's getting desperate though and its pretty funny to watch. I love board warriors lol.
Are you familiar with the term Toady?
McFucked.
WTF? They don't accept food stamps or EBT cards? Doh!
'Round here you can get 4 Ramens for a buck. We like to snort the flavor pack- better than smack!
Fresh food is better.
Never let your meat loaf.
I am guessing that last night's value menu cost us less than $1.00 per person, as the only thing we purchased at a store is the Idaho spud. Cannot eat sweet potatoes every night.
Lets see here: Bloomberg prohibits the "high margin" soda and Michele poo-poos the burgers; what's left is what we see happening. These folks not only voted for Obummer but they are listening to Michele and Mr. Shorty-pants too!!! When is Whole Foods scheduled to begin accepting SNAP?
Homeboy in front of me was rocking his EBT card at Whole Foods. I'm feeling left out lately. I need to get me one of those cards yo!
And that dead flesh meeat don't look so "fresh". That's fat people food, tomatoes and garnish notwithstanding.
And when all those Ronald McDonald motherfuckers start collecting benefits we're gonna see some surging unemployment numbers!
I'm still waiting for a picture of one of your yummy gefilte fish dinners...
What? Someone here doesn't like gefilte fish? Me either... I prefer catfish...
Not enough pink slime. More pink slime= more profit.
+1 on the fresh food. Everytime there's a food quality discussion, I can always count on a hedgeless pic of last night's dinner. Though for the sake of argument, the value is far more than $1 if you add labor hours involved, especially if you're making your ingredients from scratch.
Have you been talking with Mrs. Horseman? She's been bucking for a COLA raise, but I reply with Bernanke's view that there is no inflation.
I spend an hour every morning/evening caring for my milk cow, beef cows, and chickens. Had a good friend tell me that home grown food wasn't worth the effort in his opinion.
Had him and his wife over for dinner. Steaks, homegrown potatoes, corn, fresh tomato salsa, home made dairy (butter/sour cream, etc).
A couple weeks later and he's looking for several acres to start his own hobby farm. Asking me how to get started now.
Home grown. It's what's for dinner. I can't produce a hamburger for 99 cents if you factor in my time....but on the other hand, no restaurant can produce as delicious/healthy food.
"I spend an hour every morning/evening caring for my milk cow, beef cows, and chickens."
Now there's a useful friend...
I like how "caring for" involves occassionally killing them. But good for you on the healthy, inflation-protected lifestyle.
Yeah, I understand the conflict. However, most cannot understand the life my calves would have had in a factory feed lot or raised for veal. Here they roam as a small herd on their acreage, feed on the hay I store for them, the grain I bring in from the co-op, enjoy the grass in my meadows, are treated humanely, and really loved as pets.
And then killed for dinner. I admit it, even knowing why I'm raising the steers, it can be emotionally hard to say goodbye. Perhaps, at times, it is reason enough to consider being a vegetarian.
Until I grill a home raised steak. That's a pretty persuasive argument toward my current arrangement.
Remember that you'd have to earn about $1.35 in order to have .99 after taxes with which to pay for that burger. So you're saving more than you think plus you're slapping the man's hand as he tries to take a cut. I always think about that while I'm chopping firewood.
Haven't spoken with Mrs. Horseman, but you sound like one lucky dude. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky too?
Guy in 20s seeking woman in 20s - prefer attractive, healthy, white, and intelligent, and NOT career focused. Majority of time will be spent in food preparation, including but not limited to milking cows, churning butter, grinding grain, baking bread, plucking chickens, making stock, and serving plates. Please contact for more info.
Also seeking unicorns: just as rare.
Can she have a mustache or a beard?
Only if it's washed regularly and well-maintained.
Sort of like the Bernank (or Krugman)... Better be a DAMN good cook then...
You'll be fine, it will just tickle your balls.
and who takes a picture of every dinner they eat...kind of strange
dont let him talk you into going gto his flicker account. he does before and after pics.
Jim Gaffigan watches the Food network without any pants on.
That is what my kids say.
Who? Most white males 16-37 years of age on Instagram.
Who? Most white males 16-37 years of age on Instagram.
He must be writing a cook book.
It's call a dinner pic. It is normally accompanied by one or two firearms and some fine cutlery, though.
WHat the hell do you do at night.
"Honey this looks delicious I'll have to share with the boys tomorrow..."
lol loving it!
Unless that Ketchup is home made, you just spoiled that good plate of dinner.
Ever looked at the first ingredient in Ketchup? It ain't tomatoes.
I cannot eat meatloaf without it.
Ketchup is just tomatoes, vinegar (homemade from wine bottoms), and salt.
Got Magimix?
No Magimix, but a Vitamix. We processed 75 lbs of garden tomatoes into 45+ quarts of delicious sauce.
No need to skin em using the vitamix. Also makes fantastic shakes and 10 second frozen drinks. :)
pods
How do you get it to be paste like ? Starch ?
You can use cornstarch, but I don't think it is necessary. Remove skins and seeds. Use a squeeze bottle to dispense.
Hell, the skins of organic, heirloom tomatoes have a bunch of vitamins and trace minerals in them as well that I hate to throw out. I save some of the seeds of my tomatoes for next year, and just process the rest of the tomato including skins and seeds. If you use Amish Paste tomatoes it's not watery at all. Conversely, if you have more watery tomatoes, you can just cook it down to paste after blending, or dehydrate the tomatoes first.
The traditional way of making tomato paste in Italy is to spread the meat of paste (roma) tomatoes on a clean board and let it sit out in the sun until it attains a paste-like consistency.
Amish Paste are rockin good tomatoes. I ran them year before last. The only thing from a sauce perspective is they are not determinate, whereas most roma types are. So you don't get them all at once. Nothing beats them for size though, and the taste is good enough for straight up slicing. They also tend not to suffer from BER like most OP romas. My San Marzanos were terrible in terms of BER, I lost about half the crop. Amish paste saved the year. I process skins and seeds, just pop the tops and squeeze out the water.
Basically it is a roma the size of a beefsteak!
pods
I do salsa about 40lbs a year and no need to skin tomatos. steam them and blender with rest of goodies. I also grow jalapeno, habanero and ghost pepper. I likes em spicay.
I nearly got killed by a habanero lately. I like spicy stuff, but this is way too much for my soft canadian piehole. Ruined my dinner as I had to drink tons of milk and eat peanut butter to keep from choking o_O
But I wager the hard part was the day after? A little Johnny Cash, with a ring of fire?
@hh,
Plus 1 on the presentation.
Maybe they read ZeroHedge, where they are always ridiculed for being fat, and decided to eat organic carrots from WholeFoods instead. Maybe it has nothing to do with price.
Maybe, but WholeFoods -5% today.
Look for McD's to automate further, as already done in Europe. Move to become (more) cashless, as the drive-thru is automated and former employees become SNAP customers.
Reminds me of the Carl's Jr. fast-food vending robot from Idiocracy...
"You are an unfit mother. Your children are being put in the custody of Carl's Jr."
Have you seen some of the people that frequent that place? The slack jawed eating machines can't put the food down long enough to read,let alone hit the hyperlink to the comments.
You think that's meat in there? LOL.
There's ammonia in there. Enjoy.
Bring back pink slime!!!
I noticed both Burger King & McDonald's raised their Double Cheeseburger prices after they got rid of pink slime. When your expenses are only for pink slime and salt, it keeps cost lower and provides a better profit margin. When you have to get so-called "real ground beef," it is hard to undercut places like In-N-Out & Five Guys.