Are You Meant to Make Money at McDonalds?

Last night as I was watching the news, I saw a group of McDonald restaurant workers picketing for an increase in wages. They were asking for double the salary they were currently receiving, so instead of $7.50 an hour, they were wanting $15 an hour.  What these people don't realize is when the minimum wage increases, so does the price of everything else.

Flipping burgers was always a job for kids after school or during the summer. I had one in high school at Boyd's Dairy Dip. The minimum wage jobs were for college kids who were just trying to make a few bucks while in school. These jobs were never meant for people to use as a prime source of income to raise a family; it has only been in the past ten or twenty years that this has changed.  What would happen if the guy at McDonald's were to receive that raise in pay through minimum wage?

Right now a burger may cost on average $5, and the cost of the guy to flip that burger is $7.50 an hour.  Now, let's see how much that burger would cost when the cook is making $15 an hour. Who do you think is going to have to make up the difference, it sure won't be McDonald's. The company will increase the cost of  the burger, along with the cost of other items on the menu in order to pay the overhead and maintain the profit. Economics 101.

Now that the cost of the fast food restaurant has increased many people who are on set incomes such as social security and retirement benefits can no longer afford to eat there. Who wants to pay $8 to $10 for a burger at McDonald's? Not only that, but now they are going to have to lay off some people because it's no longer cost effective. Since the food prices are increasing, people aren't buying like they used to, so it's not feasible to continue to run the business. The next decision may be to just fold, close up shop, pack up and go home.  Over the years, there have been a lot of big businesses we thought would never fold, but do to economic pressures, regulations, and technological advances, they just couldn't compete, so they decided to close their doors.

I know I'm pushing it with McDonald's as an example, but why would someone go to college and spend all of that time and money gaining the knowledge to graduate and grab that job that pays a starting salary of $15 an hour, when they can go to a burger joint and be a grease jockey?

The only ones to gain in this case are the politicians who want to talk about raising minimum wage for the votes and the increased tax revenues from the $15 an hour. The ones who stand to lose the most are the ones who can least afford it...the elderly and the disabled. Think about it.