I have been reading posts in various news sources about people saying how bad the economy is based on the price of a meak at McDonalds.
And while I agree that some prices are higher, many are not. And frankly, my first reaction to the McDonalds comparisons are, “well there’s your trouble.”
If eggs are too expensive, buy chickpeas.
If McDonald’s is too expense - make breakfast at home.
If gas is too expensive, there are a lot of options to mitigate it - even though you often can’t eliminate it.
I get that some people at the bottom of the income ladder are struggling, and their struggle is real and I am not dismissing it.
I’m talking about other options:
I’m **NOT** saying that the people complaining about it ought to know better and pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. I want to make that crystal clear. I am saying that they are trying but need education and the right assistance to make it work. We need to give them those things. We need to be there for them and provide information and alternatives. And the McDonald’s price stories make it clear to me that we are not helping, but feeding the sense that McDonald’s food is a normal part of a struggling household’s finaces.
And while I agree that some prices are higher, many are not. And frankly, my first reaction to the McDonalds comparisons are, “well there’s your trouble.”
If eggs are too expensive, buy chickpeas.
If McDonald’s is too expense - make breakfast at home.
If gas is too expensive, there are a lot of options to mitigate it - even though you often can’t eliminate it.
I get that some people at the bottom of the income ladder are struggling, and their struggle is real and I am not dismissing it.
I’m talking about other options:
- If you’re not bottom of the rung and squeezing every stone dry, then you have a lot of squeezing potential - and we need to help these people see it. Not eating at McDonalds, packing lunches, how to choose lower cost food and prepare it (Cost per g of protein).
- If you are bottom of the rung and don’t know how to squeeze the stones, we need to help these people and help them squeeze. Provide food and ways to cook it that can be handled between two jobs, or by kids. Provide better daycare to help them have bandwidth to squeeze.
- If you are at the upper-middle rungs and not facing hardship, keep going, keep priming the economy.
- If you are at the upper rungs, stop your fear-mongering and donate lavishly to the organizations needed for 1 & 2.
I’m **NOT** saying that the people complaining about it ought to know better and pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. I want to make that crystal clear. I am saying that they are trying but need education and the right assistance to make it work. We need to give them those things. We need to be there for them and provide information and alternatives. And the McDonald’s price stories make it clear to me that we are not helping, but feeding the sense that McDonald’s food is a normal part of a struggling household’s finaces.
