In the New Economics: Fast-Food Factories

NYT ^ | 2/20 | David Cay Johnston

[John Farson]

Is cooking a hamburger patty and inserting the meat, lettuce and ketchup inside a bun a manufacturing job, like assembling automobiles?

That question is posed in the new Economic Report of the President, a thick annual compendium of observations and statistics on the health of the United States economy.

The latest edition, sent to Congress last week, questions whether fast-food restaurants should continue to be counted as part of the service sector or should be reclassified as manufacturers. No answers were offered.

In a speech to Washington economists Tuesday, N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said that properly classifying such workers was "an important consideration" in setting economic policy.

Counting jobs at McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food enterprises alongside those at industrial companies like General Motors and Eastman Kodak might seem like a stretch, akin to classifying ketchup in school lunches as a vegetable, as was briefly the case in a 1981 federal regulatory proposal.

[maestro]

'Soylent Green'....?

[StockAyatollah]

This clown, Mankiw, is apparently a "New Keynesian". As if the old Keynesians weren't bad enough!

[CommandoFrank]

Just another way for the WH to make themselves look stupid and deceiving, and another free round of ammo for the Dem's.

[tacticalogic]

There's been a disturbing (IMHO) trend in High Schools and Tech Schools for several years to close down mechanical tech programs and sell off their lathes, milling machines, welders, etc. Maybe they can replace them with grills and deep fryers.

[maestro]

Yep.

Foreign Soy-'meat' too?

[annyokie]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/mankiwbio.html

[meenie]

Ding,Dong. Does it ring a bell that this is the leader of Bush's economic advisors? Submarine Sandwiches are now heavy industry. Cabbage burgers and French fries are now the bulwark against our enemies and terrorists. When the need arises for our protection, the assembly lines will be ready. Heinz catsup and mustard can be counted on to throw their support to the cause. A strong manufacturing base is essential to a strong military. Fuller brush has been placed on alert to sweep out the terrorists if they should appear. I feel so much better now that the adults are in charge.

[txhurl]

The answer: when they have to consult an MRP/ERP system and adhere to ISO 900X standards in order to build a burger, then yes, they could be considered manufacturers.

Until then they're simply a pick-pack, fulfillment operation.

[Moonman62]

Counting jobs at McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food enterprises alongside those at industrial companies like General Motors and Eastman Kodak might seem like a stretch, akin to classifying ketchup in school lunches as a vegetable, ...

Ketchup is high in Lycopene. The Reagan administration was way ahead of its time.

[gg188]

The left got a lot of mileage ridiculing Reagan about the the ketchup-is-a-vegatable thing. I am afraid that if this fastfood-is-manufacturing thing gets traction it could hurt Bush.