'McFlation' has spun out of control under Biden



The government uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index to measure inflation.

For instance, when President Joe Biden took office, the year-over-year inflation rate was roughly 1.4%. CNN indicated the Biden inflation rate reached a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Last week, the Labor Department recently indicated that the CPI for all urban consumers "increased by 0.3 percent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, after rising 0.4 percent in March[.] ... Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.4 percent before seasonal adjustment."

According to the BLS inflation calculator, prices generally increased by approximately 21.5% between December 2019 and March 2024, according to TheStreet.

Some consumers have apparently turned instead to fast-food prices to gauge just how much purchasing power they have lost in recent years.

FinanceBuzz has made historical price comparisons easier, contrasting fast-food menu prices in 2014 and prices in 2024 on the basis of pricing data sourced from ItsYummi.com, FastFoodMenuPrices.com, and MenuWithPrice.com, cross-referenced with restaurants' official websites.

The breakdown claimed that the price of:

  • the McChicken increased by 199% over the 10-year stretch, from $1.00 in 2014 to $2.99 in 2014;
  • the McDouble increased by 168%, from $1.19 to $3.19;
  • medium fries by 138%, from $1.59 to $3.79;
  • the Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal by $122%, from $5.39 to $11.99;
  • the Oreo McFlurry by 88%, from $2.39 to $4.49;
  • the 10 Piece McNugget Happy Meal by 83%, from $5.99 to $10.99;
  • the 4 Piece McNugget Happy Meal by 67%, from $2.99 to $4.99;
  • the Big Mac by 50%, from $3.99 to $5.99; and
  • the price of a medium drink increased by 25%, from $1.29 to $1.61.

McDonald's — which has reportedly contested the figures, saying "pricing is set by individual franchisees and varies by restaurant" — is not the only restaurant suffering what some are calling "McFlation."

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen's menu items have, on average, allegedly jumped by 86% in price since 2014. Taco Bell has reportedly seen an 81% average increase. Dining out at Chipotle Mexican Grill now, 10 years later, apparently costs 75% more.

It appears some of the more dramatic price increases have taken place over the past four years.

TheStreet indicated that the price of medium French fries at McDonald's increased by 134.1%, from $1.79 to $4.19 since 2019; the price of the McChicken increased by 201.6%, from $1.29 to $3.89; the price of the Big Mac increased by 87.7%, from $3.99 to $7.49; and price of the cheeseburger increased by 215%, from $1 to $3.15.

McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in February, "I think what you’re going to see as you head into 2024 is probably more attention to what I would describe as affordability," reported Fortune.

'Eating at home has become more affordable.'

At the time, customers were prickled by the cost of Big Mac meals, which were going for around $18, as well as the absence of any single $1 item on McDonald's so-called Dollar Menu.

"Eating at home has become more affordable," added Kempczinski.

Shubhranshu Singh, associate professor of marketing at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, told FinanceBuzz, "A number of factors have contributed to the rising costs of fast food. First, food prices are outpacing inflation. Wage rate is also rising faster than inflation. In other words, the cost of preparing and serving fast food is rising faster than the inflation rate."

Singh suggested further that "due to increasing pressure to spend less, some consumers have also downgraded from full-service restaurants to fast-food restaurants, thus increasing the overall demand for fast food."

'The war in Ukraine and other factors contributed to higher food costs.'

"Because of the increasing need to take multiple jobs and less time to prepare or enjoy food, consumers' preferences for fast food have become stickier; that is, they are willing to accept higher prices," continued Singh. "To make matters worse for fast-food restaurants, consumers are tipping less at low- and no-service restaurants. Fast-food restaurants are responding by raising prices."

Michael Bognanno, professor of economics at Temple University, told FinanceBuzz that extra to post-pandemic competition for low-wage workers, which drove up wages — costs in many cases passed onto customers — "the war in Ukraine and other factors contributed to higher food costs. Energy prices, notably for the cost of electricity, rose more than 10% in 2022 and are still increasing at a rate that exceeds the rate of inflation."

Prices are also being driven up further by minimum wage hikes in states such as California, where every fast-food restaurant has to pay its employees a minimum wage of $20 per hour — except for the chain run by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's billionaire buddy.

Less than a month into the new wage hike, Kalinowski Equity Research indicated prices at some restaurants had jumped up by as much as 8%, reported KNBC-TV.

The California Restaurant Association said, "Since it took effect, job losses, reduced working hours, restaurant closures, and higher prices for California's inflation-weary consumers have been ongoing."

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Dog helps save elderly owner who fell through the ice: 'Better give the dog a ribeye'



A 65-year-old man walking his dog across a frozen lake Thursday in East Bay Township, Michigan, fell through the ice and into the frigid depths below. Shoreside witnesses called 911, prompting a rapid response by Michigan State Police officer Kammeron Bennetts.

While quick to the scene, Bennetts, 30, still had to figure out how to mount a rescue without similarly ending up trapped on the wrong side of the lake. Fortunately, the waterlogged man's Brittany bird-hunting dog was more than willing to help.

Bodycam footage shows a bystander point out a dog-shadowed gap on Arbutus Lake where the Traverse City man went under. The officer grabs a rescue disc from his cruiser, fastens a rope to it, then heads out onto the ice.

Although able to venture roughly 40 feet away from shore, Bennetts nevertheless falls short of the man's position due to his uncertainty about the solidity of the ice ahead. The officer tosses the rescue disc to the man. While unsuccessful, the initial attempt excites the dog, giving Bennetts an idea.

"You revert to the tools in front of you. I only had a dog in front of me, so use the dog," Bennetts later told People. "I saw she was ready to go to work."

"Send your pup here. Will she come to me?" Bennetts can be heard yelling to the man steeped in freezing water.

The man indicates the dog's name is Ruby.

"Ruby, come here! Come here, Ruby!" yells the officer.

After some whistling and another summons, the dog comes bolting over to Bennetts.

"Will she get ahold of this?" asks the officer, coiling the rope. Ruby quickly indicates she's ready to do that and more.

After fastening the disc and rope to Ruby's collar, Bennetts yells, "Call her! Call her!"

Bennetts, who has been on the force for two years, later indicated, "Within a minute your dexterity in your fingers goes, you lose speech, you lose everything."

Although ultimately in the water for 16 minutes, the Traverse City man nevertheless manages to call Ruby. The dog brings the disc over to her master. With a direct line to the man, Bennetts tells him to take the disc and begin kicking his legs.

The MSP officer begins pulling the man to shore with Ruby providing emotional support. A firefighter from Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department soon leaps into action, joining Bennetts in the rescue.

After the incident, the officer suggested to the Traverse City man, "You better give the dog a ribeye."

According to the MSP, the man was transported by ambulance to Munson Medical Center and later released.

The MSP Seventh District stated on X, "Great team work and well done!"

The MSP Sixth District noted, "What a good girl!!! ... Creative thinking helped save a life!!!"

— (@)

Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll told People, "Everyone is impressed by [Bennetts'] ability to take control of the situation and his ability to think outside the box to rescue the man in such a timely manner."

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Democrats Raise Taxes On The Middle Class—Both Now And Later

Democrats know they will have to come back to raise taxes on the middle class later, and want to prevent people from paying taxes on their retirement balances at today’s lower rates.

South Dakota boy, 10, drowns after saving little sister on Big Sioux River



A 10-year-old South Dakota boy gave up his own life while saving his 5-year-old sister from drowning in the Big Sioux River over the weekend.

What are the details?

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office alerted the public Saturday evening that "a large scale rescue operation" was underway at the river in search of a 10-year-old boy. Hours later, they announced that a dive team recovered the body of young Ricky Lee Sneve.

Ricky's mother, Nicole Eufers, told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that her boy was on the river with his father when "a couple of the siblings fell in the water. Dad jumped in for two of them, and Ricky jumped in to save his sister, Chevelle."

The little boy was able to get Chevelle to the shore, but when his father and the other kids turned around, they could not find Ricky.

"He saved his sister's life and took his own," his mother told the newspaper.

Ricky was the oldest of Eufers' four children and had a fifth sibling. A GoFundMe account set up for the single mother by his uncle states:

"Ricky Lee was a very intelligent and smart young boy who loved his family and was an adventurous little guy. He'd do anything to help his mom or anyone at that, without ever being asked. Ricky gave his life trying to do what he knew was best."

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