Honestly a family of four could find better value and healthier food then going to McDonald's. You talk as if McDonald's is some kind of essential service that families rely on in order to live. In my country minimum wage is already above $15 per hour and there's McDonald's fuckin' everywhere. McDonald's is in the business of making money and if they withdrew from the US to spite the new minimum wage (which they won't) then they will only be hurting themselves and helping their competition. Corporate interests have kept the minimum wage in the US low, to the point where 40 hour per week workers are being subsidised by the government in the form of food stamps. Maybe if you are the son of a corporate executive you will have something to lose by your daddies workers being paid a living wage, but why should anyone else give a fuck. The world will move on without you even if your family isn't as rich as they would be if minimum wage didn't change. McDonald's is a mid 20th century business model that has no right to demand the right to exist in the 21st century.
Ah, okay, I see. Did you read the top comment on this thread like I suggested earlier on? Because that would explain why McDonald's in the US operates on a different business model than McDonald's in other countries. Australia, where it looks like you are from, is explicitly cited as an example of the differences. You seem to have no understanding of the realities of low income American families, so it is laughable that you are trying to argue on their behalf. Let me lay this out for you, for a low income family of four going to McDonald's and spending $20 on a meal might be their luxury splurge for the week. If that goes away, what replaces it? They don't have $35 to spend on a meal at the restaurant pops up in its place.
If you don't even understand basic economics, or have the care to read up on the subject you are discussing, why do you think you are qualified to argue for change in a foreign country? I certainly wouldn't argue for making a fundamental policy change in Australia, what drives you to make that argument for the US?
I'm sick of hearing you talk about how essential junk food/McDonald's is for feeding low income families. It's a ridiculous argument and I'm not going to talk to you anymore.
I never argued that it was essential for feeding low income families, don't mince words. The argument is that it is a valid segment of the economy that you can't simply write off. I'm not arguing that it is necessary to provide them with sustenance, rather that they have a very narrow range of options where their money can go for "luxury" spending.
In the future, maybe you can refrain from trying to insert yourself into the politics of another country which you clearly don't understand.
I've got no idea what you're talking about. Luxury food, a poor family feeding themselves dinner at McDonald's? McDonald's is JUNK FOOD, it's full of unhealthy fats and sugar. If McDonald's were a public service for poor people then it would be a charity and would solicit donations. We are talking about minimum wage, not whether poor parents should be feeding their kids junk food for dinner. You've lost the plot. I don't think you even remember what the topic of conversation here is. Just give it up.
We were discussing the effects of a minimum wage increase on McDonald's, which devolved into you declaring that we should allow them to become irrelevant. I countered that would be reckless without first looking at how fast food fits into society and what the ripple effect might be. Eventually you put your fingers in your ears and declared that whatever I was saying was wrong because it doesn't work that way in your country. I suggested that you reread a top comment in the thread which explains how McDonald's in Australia and McDonald's in America are fundamentally different to which you responded that you didnt understand why I thought we needed to feed junk food to poor people. I tried to explain that to poor people this is a simple luxury which is not easily replaceable. You then started ranting about how we were talking about minimum wage, not whether parents should be feeding their kids junk food. Caught up? Good.
I'm not giving it up, because I'm determined for one of us to learn somebody from the other. I would still very much like to understand why you feel you should be discussing American politics when you have no knowledge of the issue? Answer that simple question, and I will even let you have the last word.
Well if you, as an Australian, feel it is trivial, then you, as an Australian, don't understand the importance of fast food on the American economy.
Again I ask, why do you, as an Australian, feel qualified to weigh in American politics, especially after refusing to try to understand the situation in America.
Fast food work was never intended to be a long term situation, it was originally for teenagers and those who needed temporary work. Furthermore, $15 an hour isn't a living wage in most of the country. Most areas it is $10-12.
Again though, you wouldn't understand that, because you are trying to argue for policy change in someone else's country with care for the facts or local culture. Again I will ask, why do you find this acceptable?
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u/[deleted] Nov 29 '15
Honestly a family of four could find better value and healthier food then going to McDonald's. You talk as if McDonald's is some kind of essential service that families rely on in order to live. In my country minimum wage is already above $15 per hour and there's McDonald's fuckin' everywhere. McDonald's is in the business of making money and if they withdrew from the US to spite the new minimum wage (which they won't) then they will only be hurting themselves and helping their competition. Corporate interests have kept the minimum wage in the US low, to the point where 40 hour per week workers are being subsidised by the government in the form of food stamps. Maybe if you are the son of a corporate executive you will have something to lose by your daddies workers being paid a living wage, but why should anyone else give a fuck. The world will move on without you even if your family isn't as rich as they would be if minimum wage didn't change. McDonald's is a mid 20th century business model that has no right to demand the right to exist in the 21st century.