It's crazy to think how much better we had it just five short years ago. You could get a $1.29 McChicken, a $1.69 5-layer burrito from Taco Bell, 8 nuggets at Chick-fil-A for $3.05. We had it made!
Since 2019, however, those prices have essentially doubled, and that's not only outrageous, it's depressing.
Let's check on the numbers, shall we?
So here's what inflation looked like overall during that period:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, prices in general went up by around 21.5% between December 2019 (prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic issues that followed) and March 2024 (the latest month for which CPI data was available as of this article's last update).
21.5% inflation over five years!!!
Outrageous, though we did spend a whole heck of a lot of money during that whole pandemic thing.
What's more outrageous, however, is the way fast-food prices have risen during that same period — significantly more than that 21.5% number, I'll tell you that much.
Check out these numbers:
McDonald's:
Taco Bell:
Chick-Fil-A:
Burger King:
In-N-Out:
Jack in the Box:
It seriously hurts my brain to see these numbers!
I am amazed, however, that through all of this inflation Jack in the Box has stood strong on that "two tacos for 99¢" deal.
$5 never tasted so good!
A few takeaways from the data up there:
How much have fast-food prices gone up since 2020?
Prices of the items we looked at at the six restaurants listed above went up an average of 77.4% between late December 2019 and mid 2024.
Which fast-food chain raised prices the most?
Across all of the menu items listed for each of the six restaurants checked, McDonald's raised prices more on average (141.4%) than any of the other five restaurants included in this list.
Those aren't official numbers, by the way. They only include those six fast-food joints and the items listed above. But still, this is worrisome.
So as if overall inflation hadn't hit us hard enough, we in the lower tax brackets — the folks who eat fast-food — got hit with a ~77.4% increase in fast-food prices.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what life is like in Joe Biden's America.
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