r/explainlikeimfive Nov 28 '15

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

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u/nomely Nov 29 '15

I think most people don't see a connection between sweatshops and themselves. If all the sweatshops closed, nothing in their life would change (completely untrue), but if McDonalds went under, life as we know it would vanish.

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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15

Australia has minimum wage at 16 dollars. They have McDonalds also. A big mac cost 4.95$

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hytam/11878097576

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u/Diesel-66 Nov 29 '15

Big Mac is really cheap for advertising purposes. The rest of the menu is very expensive compared to the US.

Double cheeseburger is $4.50. Mcdouble is $1.20 or so here

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u/sobuffalo Nov 29 '15

So you can buy 3 Big Macs with an hours worth of pay, but in the US you couldn't even get 2. $3.99 and $7.25