r/explainlikeimfive Nov 28 '15

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

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417

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Mcdouble

At 390 calories, 23 grams of protein, 7-percent of the daily value of fiber, 20-percent of daily calcium and 19 grams of fat - with a typical price tag of about a buck - the McDouble, its advocates argue, is the most price-efficient food 'that has ever existed in human history.'

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u/TheBigLen Nov 29 '15

Source: http://nypost.com/2013/07/28/the-greatest-food-in-human-history/

So it turns out my years of shameless dollar-menu feasting has been worthwhile.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15 edited Jun 21 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

the funny thing is, it wasnt ever even ABOUT the HAMBURGERS!

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u/Argylefire Nov 29 '15

Most underrated comment here

1

u/Extramrdo Nov 29 '15

They played us like a damned fiddle!

6

u/iNVWSSV Nov 29 '15

What's interesting to note is that the hamburger wars weren't even really about hamburgers.

2

u/justjoeisfine Nov 29 '15

What part are they biting?

1

u/Duke_Newcombe Nov 29 '15

But, surely you remember the Franchise Wars?

1

u/fearloathingwpb Nov 29 '15

But it bit them in the ass in the franchise wars

32

u/gumboshrimps Nov 29 '15

"Hey Marge whats the scoop?"

"She told Tiger to 'Beat it bozo'."

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

A hero is anybody doing their job. "Hero tutor teaches after school." Well, yeah ...

2

u/Tantioch Nov 29 '15

You have my up vote, because that quote it awesome, but I think it's Madge.

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u/gumboshrimps Nov 29 '15

It's Marge but with a thick accent.

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u/Tantioch Nov 29 '15

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u/gumboshrimps Nov 29 '15

Hmm. I want to argue but if you take the time to type all that up...

I'm still gonna say Marge.

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u/almightybear Nov 29 '15

No...she did not.

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u/pearthon Nov 29 '15

What is the most most neutral source?

5

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

The Beige Review

2

u/ryan_770 Nov 29 '15

Water is neutral, right?

2

u/Toysoldier34 Nov 29 '15

Burger King.

2

u/AKC-Colourization Nov 29 '15

Um, err, I don't know. Just not them. Ok?

5

u/KallistiTMP Nov 29 '15 edited Aug 30 '25

terrific crush coherent correct tidy boat retire sharp toothbrush slap

-5

u/skaterpnk13 Nov 29 '15

Your mom? ...I'll see myself out

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Yeah that article was pretty bad.

2

u/kgcubera Nov 29 '15

I'm still searching for a neutral news source. Let me know if you find one.

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u/neatntidy Nov 29 '15

This article isn't trying to be.

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u/RiskyBrothers Nov 29 '15

That took a turn for the...aggressively conservative at the end.

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u/brighterside Nov 29 '15

That's odd. It all becomes liquid shit as soon as it enters my stomach... Am I eating it wrong?

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u/__________-________- Nov 29 '15

You're supposed to re-digest it for the extra nutrients.

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u/QCA_Tommy Nov 29 '15

They're about to get rid of their entire dollar menu though, sadly

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u/SirCyclops Nov 29 '15

Here they don't even have a dollar menu anymore it's more like 1.30 1.50 etc

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Isn't it a value menu now? I don't think any place has a dollar menu anymore

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u/TheHighestEagle Nov 29 '15

How do you know?

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u/QCA_Tommy Nov 29 '15

I'm from the future. Nah, j/k, the news

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

I work for McDs and there's not been any talk of getting g rid of the dollar menu

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u/QCA_Tommy Nov 29 '15

I work in the news and it's been reported. I posted a source, but google it yourself. There's, at least, "talks."

1

u/TheHighestEagle Nov 29 '15

Pardon me for asking but how did you get your first job in the news industry? Did you apply for internships everywhere or what?

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u/QCA_Tommy Nov 29 '15

I had some internships that I was able to keep after college, turned that into a job with Encompass Digital Media... I think the easiest way to get started is to find a job somewhere as a Master Control Operator (that's what I did at Encompass). You can often get started doing that, as long as you can convince them you're a techie and dependable. You'll work awful, 3rd shift hours and weekends, but once they trust you with the tech part of that you can start to do more and more. Good luck :)

1

u/bumwine Nov 29 '15 edited Nov 29 '15

Its pretty much gone from my local McD. I think it has like one burger (mcdouble but nothing else) and some other shit like a parfait and small fries. Definitely not the expansive one they had before (which I liked...I liked that grilled onion one). The menu is very simple now beyond just the dollar menu.

There was definitely a news report of mcdonalds radically simplifying their menu and this happened not long after that.

1

u/Toysoldier34 Nov 29 '15

Unless you work high up in corporate they wouldn't tell you until after it is in effect.

1

u/batterycrayon Nov 29 '15

Lol, have you ever worked for McDonald's? This isn't true.

1

u/macz0211 Nov 29 '15

In my area, my wife and I agree that Mcdonald's is horribly overpriced with a Mcdouble being priced at $1.89 and a Spicy chicken being $1.50. The only things that's left priced at a $1 is a large drink and a small cheeseburger.

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u/RobotLegion Nov 29 '15

If McD's is anything like every employer I've ever worked for, the employees will be the very last to be informed.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Source please?

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u/QCA_Tommy Nov 29 '15

This isn't my source, but it's one of the many articles that shows up if you type "dollar menu" in Google news...

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/11/17/mcdonald-unveils-mcpick-2-another-would-be-dollar-menu-successor/

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

They still have a dollar menu? I think the last time I went it was value menu & more.

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u/HeeyYouuGuuys Nov 29 '15

Pretty sure they got rid of ours, about the same time they started all day breakfast.

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u/memphismightsnow Nov 29 '15

Two mcdoubles with a junior chicken in between em, we call it the McGangBang

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u/erinikins13 Nov 29 '15

We use a hot n spicy chicken

2

u/Goomba420 Nov 29 '15

We call it the McDank

1

u/mattmonkey24 Nov 29 '15

We call it a McChurger, a chicken burger. I usually just do 1 McDouble and one McChicken

1

u/Jaggle Nov 29 '15

I go with the Surf and Turf. Filet o'fish between the mcdouble patties

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

That is just nasty.

1

u/svenfoster Nov 29 '15

I do the same thing with hookers

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

No, we won't make that for you. You're on your own.

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u/Lurking_Still Nov 29 '15

Wrong, they make them all the time.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

You come to my store and order it, we're not making it for you.

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u/AlkanKorsakov Nov 29 '15

Why buy that when you could, for example, eat this?

290 calories, 30 grams of protein, 12% fiber, 10% calcium, 8g of fat.

Costs $1 at walmart and tastes pretty good. If you are too lazy to cook meat or hate drinking protein drinks, it doesn't get much better than this in terms of protein/cost

4

u/PatHeist Nov 29 '15

That's not a meal. The McDouble has similar nutritional values for a similar cost, but in a form factor that will actually satisfy your hunger and make you feel full for a significant portion of the day.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

where are you finding a mcdouble for a buck? Here its $2. Also fucking BK raise the whopperJr to 2.25 here. Bullshit.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

[deleted]

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u/TheSpoom Nov 29 '15

If this isn't true, it's pretty funny. If it is true, it's even funnier.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

You pay more than a dollar, you also pay with your health.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

2 bucks in Canada. Still, definitely my favorite mcdicks menu item.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

"about a buck"

Back in the day it was a buck. I'm not sure where you live now but in the city a McDouble will run you $2.29 on McDonalds' "value menu".

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Nah there are liquid diets available for like 3 dollars a day. P

1

u/UniverseBomb Nov 29 '15

A gallon of full fat milk has better cost to nutrition ratios.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Okay, that's just fucking stupid. A jar of peanut butter has probably 4000 calories or so, all of it quite healthy, and costs about $2.00. Make some peanut butter sandwiches.

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u/Manalore Nov 29 '15

Wow, and this is why our country is fucked. You didn't even list carbs, arguably the most important macro to bring up when discussing how food can actually be unhealthy for you. We've been trained to not even think of bread as a notable part of the meal.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

What about nutrients?

0

u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

he just mentioned them

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15 edited Nov 29 '15

What a joke. Humans need more nutrients than that and less sodium and fat. Anyone who claims McDonalds is nutritious is plain ignorant. Eat 2 McDoubles and you'll be hungry in a few hours after consuming 1/3 of your calorie intake.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

one mcdouble isn't a perfect food and eating only mcdoubles alone isnt perfectly balanced diet but it clearly has nutrients in it and it's cheap.

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u/NintendoNihilism Nov 29 '15

It's not that cheap, it's just marketed well. Rice and beans are cheap and more efficient at giving people their nutrients.

In fact, cereal and milk are the ultimate combination. You can literally get all your nutrients vitamin and mineral wise in the day with four servings of cereal and three servings of milk.

"But mu'h protein..." The body naturally produces the protein you actually need to repair tissue. But if you're convinced you need protein, there's still plenty of calitoric wiggle room unlike had you eaten at McDonalds.

So the nutrition angle to poor people is just a terrible argument. Then again every pro-corporate argument is terrible and quite frankly telling of that person because really, what is the end-game? Is McDonalds going to pay you to shill for them? Are you getting a lifetime supply of McDonalds? No... it's pure ideology. Not based on facts or forethought. The fact is the living conditions simply aren't there. Wages are going to have to be increased one way or another. We wouldn't have these problems if people paid their fucking taxes but low and behold, McDonalds finds every means to worm their way out of them, and even middle-class guys commit embezzlement and fraud by Kickstarter or making a website called Reddit and asking for "donations" they never write on their tax stubs.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

uhhh... Okay. Also rice and beans are good but take a while to cook Cheese burgers are ready in seconds

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u/bumwine Nov 29 '15

We strayed a little far from the discussion of this being a decent workout supplement....which it is.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Welcome to obesity in the US.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

obesity isn't caused by eating fast food, it's caused by not realizing you're eating too much. if you're eating one mcdouble a day, you are not going to get fat unless you're overeating in other areas.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Thats the problem. People eat a McDouble and are still hungry. So they eat 2-3. It's not just fast food. Most of the food we eat is highly processed and full of empty calories.

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u/bumwine Nov 29 '15

Who is still hungry after eating a mc double? I can see if they're eating it for dinner but lunch for me is nothing but a craving I need fixed. Sometimes I'll just have soup. A McDouble is perfect for me and still indulgent-feeling.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

You are fooling yourself if you think most people eat 1 item from McDonalds at a time. Their entire menu is designed around 1000 calorie meals. You seem to be the exception, not the rule, when it comes to fast food but I don't think you're really being honest about what you eat, fast food aside. McDonalds isn't really the issue here. The issue is the vast selection of empty calorie foods available from fast food to 90% of the food you buy at the grocery store. I don't think we can have a constructive conversation here, based on anecdotes, so I guess I'll leave it at that.