A typical McDonalds meal of a quarter pounder w/cheese, fries and a Coke would cost you 1.11 in 1972 (or 69% of an hour's pay at minimum wage). Put another way, you would have to work 41.4 minutes at minimum wage for that meal.
In 2022, that same meal would cost you $7.99. Federal minimum wage in 2022 is $7.25 (though many states higher than that). So that meal would require 110% of an hour of minimum wage pay - you'd be working one hour and six minutes in 2022 for the same meal you only had to work 41.4 minutes for fifty years later.
I'm pretty sure that this Geraldine VonDielingen makes significantly more than minimum wage after 50 years of service. Supposing her hourly pay is $75-80 an hour, she can afford nearly ten Quarter Pounder meals for each hour of work, but I'm sure she finds other things to spend that money on.
McDonalds menu in 1972...
