In 1 Chart, What Your Favorite Fast-Food Items Would Cost With $15 Minimum Wage

The Daily Signal ^ | February 17, 2017 | Melissa Quinn

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

For Americans hitting the drive-thru at their local McDonald’s, a $15-an-hour minimum wage could hit them in their wallets.

According to a January report released by James Sherk, a former research fellow in labor economics at The Heritage Foundation, fast-food prices would rise by 38 percent under a $15-an-hour minimum wage and cause a 36 percent drop in employment.

Sherk’s research comes after several cities and states across the country voted to raise their minimum wages, with increases typically phased in over the next five years.

Additionally, several Democrats have advocated a $15-an-hour minimum wage at the federal level, as does Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who spoke about the need for an increase to the federal minimum wage while campaigning for president last year.

In his paper, Sherk said that raising the minimum wage would lead to higher labor costs for fast-food restaurants. Restaurant owners operating on already slim profit margins would then need to raise their prices.

Those higher menu prices would have a direct impact on customers who frequent fast-food establishments.

Here’s how prices at some of the most popular fast-food restaurants would change with a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

You have hit on a big point that the author of the study and most commenters are missing. A universal $15 per hour minimum wage will not just add to labor costs at the restaurant worker level. It will add to labor costs at the farm,at the processing level and the distribution level. So the fast food restaurant will pay more for all ingredients and packaging, even before they have their own labor costs.

[Toughluck_freeper]

This madness needs to stop. A minimum wage is Not a living wage. It is a starting wage or a supplemental wage. Is there for young people with no skills or no experience to get started, or old folks to get some supplemental income.

Raising that wage is a war against the young and the elderly in our society. And anyone claiming to have worked 20 years for minimum wage only have themselves to blame

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

FAKE FOOD

Eaten routinely by fake journalists everywhere.

[Laser_Ray]

Can confirm a similar experience from a missionary friend of the family, though it was half a decade ago. They thought they’d try a local diner instead of McDonald’s and literally thought they’d been served a ratburger. Tossed it and prayed, they had no way to tell and the staff acted insulted for them asking.

I’ve been repeatedly warned about eating any kind of meat overseas that doesn’t very obviously come from an American-run or supplied store. Western but non-American sources treat with caution, anything else visually verify the meat source, or buy it yourself at the market/bodega/whatever and have it cooked. Otherwise just don’t eat it period. There’s a reason many non-Westerners don’t eat meat much and it’s not because it’s expensive...it’s because a frightening amount of questionable sources of ‘meat’ end up in the pot or on the grill. Rats, various bushmeat, etc.