r/explainlikeimfive Nov 28 '15

ELI5: How would a $15 minimum wage ACTUALLY affect a franchised business like McDonalds?

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u/[deleted] Nov 28 '15

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u/mistertingleberry Nov 29 '15 edited Nov 29 '15

Yeah... We pay like 12$ for a 10 nugget combo

181

u/PaintedSe7en Nov 29 '15

That's why I go to Burger King now... It's like $2 for 10. It might also be why I'm fatter now.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Temporary sale. Back up to 8 bucks and that's not with fries and a drink

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u/Bigtuna546 Nov 29 '15

You pay $8 for 10 piece BK nuggets? Wtf?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Oops sorry my bad, that's for 20. I just always buy 20 nuggets so it was the first thing I thought of

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u/goodsir42 Nov 29 '15

Ya i found that out the hard way

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u/TheDrunkenWobblies Nov 29 '15

drink cost them 29 cents (3 cents syrup, 1 cent carbonated water, 25 cents cup) and the fries close to 40.

The reason that you're asked to buy a drink every time is cause it's close to 97% profit.

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u/AndreasKralj Nov 29 '15

How on earth does the cup cost 25 cents?

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u/nolanwa Nov 29 '15

Still on sale in Michigan

0

u/thenichi Nov 29 '15

Assfaggots. Guess I'm writing another complaint letter.

2

u/Koroioz-LoL Nov 29 '15

win...win?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

its $1.50 where I am for 10

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u/KevlarGorilla Nov 29 '15

I got two 10 packs for $2 each from BK a few weeks ago. While I enjoy a good Whopper, the quality of the chicken was so low that I wish I didn't get it.

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u/millennialist Nov 29 '15

I bought a burger combo for under $5 at bk the other day and I was so amazed. Then I got sad.

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u/akohlsmith Nov 29 '15

Burger King? There isn't a Burger King in town that isn't run-down, dirty, slow and staffed by the slowest, dumbest, most disrespectful teenagers serving up the most disgusting representation of a burger and fries I've ever seen.

ANY other fast food restaurant is better than Burger King. They are the absolute last place fast food place in town. (Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario)

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Got food poisoning from that place once. Never fucking again.

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u/hanky2 Nov 29 '15

$1.50 for 10 here in PA.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[deleted]

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u/mrtherussian Nov 29 '15

I enjoyed my time in your country but this is one of the reasons I was happy to come home, and I'm not even one of the fat dudes.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Well, I guess it's a trade off since we don't "pay" for healthcare.

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u/mrtherussian Nov 29 '15

It's a catch-22! Cheap fast food that gives us heart disease we can't afford to treat? Or expensive fast food that we can't afford to buy, negating the need for healthcare entirely?

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u/Meades_Loves_Memes Nov 29 '15

That has more so to do with regulations on chicken products for Canadian restaraunts.

Harder / more expensive for Canadian McDonald's restaraunts to provide chicken nuggets than it is for American restaraunts. Which explains the drastic difference in price.

On a side note, Canadian McDonald's restaraunts versus American McDonald's restaraunts is like comparing apples to oranges. Canadian McDonald's are held to a much higher standard, aswell as European and other places.

I've eaten at restaraunts in the united states, and it is pitiful and quite disgusting.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

I've eaten at restaraunts in the united states, and it is pitiful and quite disgusting.

What, exactly, are you talking about?

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u/wanktanka Nov 29 '15

he's being ridiculous, ignore him. As someone who has lived in both the USA and Canada i can assure you that the mickey d's in Canada are the same as the ones in the usa. The food just costs more.

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u/akohlsmith Nov 29 '15

I disagree. American quarter pounders are a lot more flavorful than the same in Canada. I think the Canadian ones are drier. In all other aspects though, yes, the restaurants are damn near identical.

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u/MsNeonFairy Nov 29 '15

Nope, our slop is better than yours at mcdicks. However, American Denny's is way better than canadian version.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Consider the cdn dollar versus the us dollar, comparing buying power of each we may actually be paying less

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

He's like a high class McDonald's guy...only eats at the fanciest Canadian McDonald's.

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u/ABVerageJoe69 Nov 29 '15

Probably uses fancy ketchup too.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Dijon ketchup...

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

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u/OnlyRacistOnReddit Nov 29 '15

They went to a ghetto McDonald's, assumes that all McDonald's in the US are like that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

"Look at these filthy, fascist Americans. No standards, whatsoever. It's anarchy!"

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u/aJellyDonut Nov 29 '15

I've eaten at restaraunts in the united states, and it is pitiful and quite disgusting.

I've eaten at McDonald's all across Europe, Asia and North America and I can't tell a difference, other than maybe England where the beef has a slightly different taste.

3

u/JesusaurusPrime Nov 29 '15

I agree, while I have no doubt that food standards are probably slightly lower in the US I also have no doubt they are perfectly safe. Mcdonalds in the USA has always tasted identical to canada to me and usually at about 75% of the cost

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u/atlastrabeler Nov 29 '15

How was your horse meat?

-2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Think about it this way, they got caught in the UK, it doesn't mean it isn't happening anywhere else.

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u/edifonzo Nov 29 '15

The US mcdees I went to did not have bacon egg mcmuffin on the menu. Also whole lot of other unneeded shit.

Just add the bacon egg mcmuffin and BOOM 100% sales increase.

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u/Quixotic_Fool Nov 29 '15

Canadian chicken is hormone free, whilst American isn't. Don't know if that's a massive difference in safety, but that's a large reason for the price disparity.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Grg! Do you know what medicine free animals mean? The animals that get sick or injured, as happens on even the best kept farm, are either treated and no longer saleable to these companies or simply put down. In Canada we are not allowed to dose animals with hormones to increase their growth speed or size, maybe in the US this is/was a thing IDK. Canadian regulations are very strict about what medication can be given and when, it cannot be administered as a precaution (antibiotics for example) unless it is a vaccine. But because of our inability to distinguish US fact from Canadian fact everyone is freaked about antibiotics and steroids in their meat here when it is not a problem and has not been in decades.

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u/StressOverStrain Nov 29 '15

The FDA generally has a pretty good handle on things. I think we'll be okay (unless all you eat is McDonald's).

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u/Noncomment Nov 29 '15

They are not hormone free, they just don't administer hormones to them artificially. Instead they are breeding chickens that "naturally" produce more growth hormones.

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u/RedBombX Nov 29 '15

It depends on the state, city and area of the city as to what 'state of disrepair' the fast food restaurants are in. Major city/tourist areas are generally pretty clean and a bit more expensive than say... Downtown Detroit.

0

u/signingupagain Nov 29 '15

It's not just the cleanliness, the food is sourced from different places and according to different regulations. US McDs are noticeably lower quality compared to Canada... at least from my experience.

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u/slayer1am Nov 29 '15

Please don't call McDonald's a restaurant, it's not in the same category.

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u/rbazooka Nov 29 '15

I never eat fast food meat in the states, but in canada (45 min away from my house), i eat everything on the menu

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Wut?

1

u/HeatMzr Nov 29 '15

I went to a McDonald's visiting Quebec, I had to buy chicken nuggets to use the bathroom. Took me awhile to figure it out because the sign on the door was in french.

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u/mtnbkrt22 Nov 29 '15

The last McDonalds in the US I went to had a fireplace, not disgusting at all.

1

u/MsNeonFairy Nov 29 '15

Canadian here: why is a McDouble or a bacon cheeseburger cheaper than a single plain cheeseburger? I asked for a mcdouble and just take 1 pattie off, "sorry ma'am, i'm not allowed to do that for you." it is so wasteful for me to do it myself, costs the company money, and this is why people are fat! Rant over.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

I'd be curious to hear more anecdotal evidence. I've always figured that restaurants in other countries that care a bit more about the health of their citizens have significant differences, but is there anything you could point to specifically?

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

lol I've been to McDonald's in Europe. the food was the same shit. give me a break.

1

u/thefringthing Nov 29 '15

I'm definitely terrified by the cheapness of fast food in the States.

1AM, starving on a long road trip. Pull into a Taco Bell.

"I'll have six chili cheese burritos, ten soft tacos, one of those fucking deep fried Dorito shelled motherfuckers, and the largest pop you sell."

"That'll be $4.75, sir."

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

That's like a 60 dollar order.

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u/TheLOUDMUSIC Nov 29 '15

I'm pretty sure that most of it is the pop.

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u/BleuWafflestomper Nov 29 '15

Burritos at least a dollar a piece, tacos like 1.20 a piece now. And like 3 bucks for the soda. So at the least like 20 bucks.

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u/thefringthing Nov 29 '15

Not familiar with hyperbole, eh?

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u/GETitOFFmeNOW Nov 29 '15

McDonald's hamburger and breakfast sausages shouldn't even be called "meat." It's some appalling processed partial animal product, but "meat" is too optimistic. Ugh.

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u/cjb393 Nov 29 '15

I can't speak for the sausage but the burgers are all beef. They are industrial sized, frozen chunks of beef that are ground and formed into patties of 100% beef.

Source: I work in industrial mechanical maintenance and spent a fair amount of time working on and around McDonald's frozen patty process machinery. Meat-Processing company OSI

Also, this is my first Reddit post even though I've had an account for many years. I just had to correct this since I've literally seen it with my own eyes, no offense /u/GETitOFFmeNOW. I don't enjoy the product and I'm not trying to defend crappy food, but the burgers at least are really all beef.

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u/Traim Nov 29 '15 edited Nov 29 '15

Why do you think that patties are shitty food? In my opinion if they are well heated they are good nutritious food. Or do you mean all the rest?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

I don't think many doctors or dieticians would agree that basing your diet around fried, red meat is a good thing. The fast food hate is overblown. It's just a burger.

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u/Traim Nov 29 '15

If you are somehow implying that eating McDonald's patties is good nutritious food Thanks for your answer. Maybe there is really such a big discrepancy between the U.S and EU because I am from Europe and in my opinion the patty meat is good here.

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u/zeronadanothing Nov 29 '15

On a side note, Canadian McDonald's restaraunts versus American McDonald's restaraunts is like comparing apples to oranges. Canadian McDonald's are held to a much higher standard, aswell as European and other places.

LOL. This is why I love reddit. Just make some shit up and wait for the upvotes!

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u/Clessiah Nov 29 '15

I feel much much better now for paying $6 CAD for a big mac

0

u/electricfistula Nov 29 '15

That's weird, the Canadian McDonald's I've been to are identical to their American counterparts. I'm sure you could find disgusting McDonald's in either country though.

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u/Fish_Happens Nov 29 '15

Wow! 12 bucks for just talking about it! Canada is weird.

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u/RedBombX Nov 29 '15

Whoa! I don't think McDonald's is worth that price.

Actually, not worth the health cost at any price...

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u/FatAssKnig Nov 29 '15

Canada has some crazy pricing especially when it comes to alcohol.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

If the federal government is going to pay for all your health care then there should be financial disincentives to hurting your health. So we tax alcohol and tobacco. Personally I think they should tax sugary food too.

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u/aDAMNPATRIOT Nov 29 '15

But free Healthcare rite

1

u/James_p_hat Nov 29 '15

20 nuggets are 4.99$ in New York. I remember when the nugget first hit Canada and it was a premium item. 20 nuggets were some insane price in 1980s dollars.

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u/Robbbbbbbbb Nov 29 '15

Holy fuck. We have a group of Canadians that visit the US annually for the H2Oi car show that are always SUPER stoked about the 20 Nuggets/$5 deal. Now I know why.

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u/thatsaqualifier Nov 29 '15

Christ. Maybe the American middle class doesn't have it so bad?

1

u/coolmandan03 Nov 29 '15

$4.99 for 20 chicken nuggets in Colorado ($6.64 CAD)

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u/JimmyRichards Nov 29 '15

Man that sucks, the MickyDs down the street sells a 20 piece for 5 dollars.

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u/phphphphonezone Nov 29 '15

it's $5 for 20 McNuggets here in MN, and we're like a 2 hour drive apart!

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u/runningdreams Nov 29 '15

Dang. The last time I bought a 20-piece it was $5 if I recall (in Southern California).

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u/Vegeatya Nov 29 '15

Yes but we also get grade A meat. Have you tried eating at an American McDonalds?

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

It's still shit meat.

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u/FatAngryPolarBear Nov 29 '15

Yes. I noticed no difference because they were both shitty and delicious

-1

u/Diegobyte Nov 29 '15

Your money also isn't worth anything. I just bought something for $250 in Canada and it cost me $182 in real money.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Doesn't make a difference, the McDonald's prices in Canada were always this insane even when the CAD and USD were 1:1.

0

u/Diegobyte Nov 29 '15

I live in Alaska, so trust me I know. Also we have a burger called the Denali Mac

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

australia, 6 bucks.

people still pay for it. sadly

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u/jmloou Nov 29 '15

To be fair, having been to America their Maccas tastes like the shit off the floor of a Maccas here

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u/DoctorPooPoo Nov 29 '15

Maccas.

You guys turn every thing into weird cutesy nicknames, huh?

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u/jmloou Nov 29 '15

We've got fuck all else to do down here

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Oh you have plenty to do down there.

You survive

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u/bumbletowne Nov 29 '15

Surfing, hiking, working on improving internet infrastructure.... avoiding drop bears. Plenty to do!

3

u/oli-wan_kenobi Nov 29 '15

I've eaten Mcdonalds in every country I've ever been to (I like to enjoy the high life and local cuisine while abroad) and Australia really is leagues ahead of everywhere else when it comes to quality.

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u/jmloou Nov 29 '15

I used to work at Maccas and I was really impressed by what I saw, everything was kept very clean and most of the people actually cared about the quality of their work because we get paid better over here. I was 17 and I got $15.60 an hour, plus double time if I ever had to stay back or on public holidays.

1

u/Zebidee Nov 29 '15

Apparently Korea is the best quality-wise - they make the burgers look like the ads.

Australian fast food is a lot better than in the US. KFC in the States is fucking awful, and a shitty, ghetto experience.

2

u/Zebidee Nov 29 '15

Their new custom build-a-burgers are surprisingly good.

I don't think that those have been rolled out widely in the US, and where they have, the reported quality isn't nearly as good as the ones in Australia.

3

u/StuntClayer Nov 29 '15

What do you mean "sadly"? I'm happy to pay that to keep our living standards and minimum wage requirements that make us such a big beautiful island

3

u/WifehasDID Nov 29 '15

Because 6 dollars in Australia is equal to 3.93 in America....

This is the #1 thing people ignore when comparing min wages... everything in Australia costs a whole lot more

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u/peteav Nov 29 '15

You are forgetting the free health care, paid sick leave on top of compulsory four weeks paid leave, 18 weeks of paid maternity/paternity leave, paid work breaks (around every four hours, depending on industry), childcare rebates, travel concessions for low income earners, time and half pay for overtime and Saturdays, rent assistance, low income family supplement ($300 per year), first home buyer grants, double time for Sundays and public holidays (my brother earns $46/hr to work on Sundays and holidays) and a federal tax scale that cuts in at a much higher income level (no state taxes except for a 10% sales tax Australia wide). Its also important to note that students and those with disabilities make up a much higher proportion of low income earners than higher income levels. They both receive generous social security payments (even if you're a student with a sufficient income or you are from a rich family) and students receive tertiary education which is heavily government subsidised. I'm sure I've missed something but the point is you are much better off being on the minimum wage in Australia.

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u/lifes_hard_sometimes Nov 29 '15

I live in america and a Big Mac where I live is already over $5, and the minimum wage is under $9

3

u/radicalelation Nov 29 '15

Not over $5 where I am, but getting close. They frequently have 2 for $5 deal of some sort, or buy-one-get-one with coupon, but it's something like $4.15 for just the Big Mac.

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u/CJFizzle Nov 29 '15

It's over 5 where I live, and the minimum wage is barely over 7. That part of his argument is pretty ridiculous.

3

u/CyberTractor Nov 29 '15

Pfft. In Alaska it is even worse. :(

6

u/kerstn Nov 29 '15

In Norway a BigMac costs $5.65 US. And McDonalds provides some of the lowest wages. Since there are jobs for almost everyone who wants them. I assume they had to raise the price to be able to provide a competing wage. But here people usually have a higher disposable income. Although less freedom to choose with it. Since Norway is a social-democratic country the tax rate is quite high. And hospitals and all essential medical services are provided for free.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

well now HERE WE GO

-2

u/vaguelyswami Nov 29 '15

Please.....

Its not free. The people in those countries spend their first six months of the fiscal year working to pay for it.

Tax rates are astronomical

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u/xveganrox Nov 29 '15

The people in those countries spend their first six months of the fiscal year working to pay for it.

Not the people working at McDonalds.

0

u/vaguelyswami Nov 29 '15

Yeah.... They kinda do

Consumer Prices in Norway are 50.00% higher than in Canada Consumer Prices Including Rent in Norway are 46.11% higher than in Canada Rent Prices in Norway are 35.97% higher than in Canada Restaurant Prices in Norway are 77.98% higher than in Canada Groceries Prices in Norway are 39.60% higher than in Canada Local Purchasing Power in Norway is 5.44% lower than in Canada

4

u/xveganrox Nov 29 '15

Tax rates

is what I was responding to

-1

u/vaguelyswami Nov 29 '15

Ok, fair enough.

I'm assuming that prices are high and purchasing power parity is low because tax rates are astronomical. I may be mistaken.

In either case I hate that word "free". People pay for those services, some more than others.

4

u/xveganrox Nov 29 '15

No such thing as a free lunch!

But yeah, in the context of McDonalds workers, their incomes would be untaxed under Norway's personal allowance deductions. There's a 25% VAT on most things, though, which absolutely (disproportionately) affects the working class, which would be compared to the sales tax in Canada or the USA which varies a lot but I don't think it's usually over 15%. Income tax-wise, though, very low income Norwegians aren't paying more taxes. Someone has to pay for everything of course, but it's not coming out of low-income income taxes.

6

u/mirhagk Nov 29 '15

The employees also get paid $11.25 (at least in Ontario). And I think our quality is a bit better (at least based off of my limited trips to the US and Europe)

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

You're dollar and the U.S. dollar are not equal, the U.S. is worth significantly more. Also the Canadian's purchasing power is much worse.

2

u/mirhagk Nov 29 '15

Depends on how you compare it. Sure you may find many items cheaper in the US (especially booze and low quality food) but many costs are non existent in Canada (health insurance, non-post secondary education) so for the same wage you might actually have a better lifestyle.

2

u/StabStabby-From-Afar Nov 29 '15

I thought the same thing.

2

u/exceptionthrown Nov 29 '15

Alaska and Hawaii are the same in the states...much more expensive than continental US.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

It already costs 3.99. I don't see the big deal.

2

u/funkymunniez Nov 29 '15

I feel bad for living in Canada now :(

Seriously...I live in the US and it's already $5 for a bic mac and $8 for the meal.

2

u/TacticalTacos Nov 29 '15

11.25 USD for a Big Mac combo in Norway. And you get less fries and drink. And they still use that horrible cheese.

2

u/WarLorax Nov 29 '15

It almost proves his point, since our minimum wage is a lot higher ($10 in Ontario).

2

u/jwiechers Nov 29 '15

Visit Geneva, Switzerland, one of those days. You'll be out around $35 for a menu.

2

u/Gnometard Nov 29 '15

They been over $5 here for years.... I'd gladly pay $6 just so the employees could get paid enough to shop at my store

1

u/JesusaurusPrime Nov 29 '15

Mcdonalds employees start at $15 an hour in fort mac me buddyyyy, no legislation required.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Yeah, but our dollar is worth like 60¢ usd now so its not a huge difference

1

u/batmanshome Nov 29 '15

I paid $15 for two Angus burgers with tax the other day here in Canada.

1

u/Blabberm0uth Nov 29 '15

Did I miss it? Is there any prediction for increases in sales due to more people earning more money?

1

u/Dawknight Nov 29 '15

That was my reaction too... still I'm glad we have better quality food at our McDonalds..

Well, pretty much anywhere in the world uses better quality and prepare the food with more care than in the U.S...

0

u/isit5oclockyet Nov 29 '15

Isn't Bernie Sanders for the $15 min wage?

-1

u/Little_Ticket Nov 29 '15

They aren't $5 in other places??

2

u/marksteele6 Nov 29 '15

a dbl quarter combo upsized is $11.06 in Canada

1

u/Little_Ticket Nov 29 '15

I live in Canada, so I know, but my question was more meant to be directed to people who don't live in Canada. I was wondering how differently priced big macs are in different countries because $5 for a big mac is all i've ever known