President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

Until the vote-certifiers take their orders.
Then the real fun starts.

 

I've told this story several times, but it sums up my feelings about that mindset.

At my last newspaper gig, we were owned by a billionaire. It had perks (like taking one of his personal jets to road games), but once the profit margin started slipping then the cuts started happening. We were still turning a healthy profit (north of 10%) on every dime we spent, but before I left they had locked the supply closet door and you had to request permission to get things out of it. Why? Because a few years earlier, we were churning out a higher ROI.

Yeah, I guess I'd be bummed if my investments went from 20% ROI to 13%. But I wouldn't lose my damn mind over it because 13% ROI is pretty good to me. I guess that makes me a socialist or something.

 

Dividing McDonald's gross profit (after deducting the costs associated with producing and selling its products or services) by its 42,000 of locations shows that, on average, a McDonald's location makes about $365,000 gross profit per year.

What that means, good or bad, and for whom, I have no idea.

 

On an initial investment of $1 to $2.5 million.

 

It's not the berders.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...ds-revenue-real-estate-franchise/71709383007/

In reality, McDonald's doesn't make big money from its menu. Through the first three quarters of 2023, the company has generated more than $7.3 billion from something that has nothing to do with hamburgers or french fries. And it's surprisingly the largest single source of revenue for the company.

Even more importantly for investors, this underappreciated business model could be its true competitive advantage, otherwise known as a moat.

Harry J. Sonneborn was an early insider at McDonald's and has been quoted as saying: "We are not technically in the food business. We are in the real estate business." That's right, Mickey D's is one of the largest real estate empires in the world.

 

He went full Aaron Rodgers?

 

Your mileage definitely varies, but I'm on a fixed income (pretty good one, however) and a child of parents who grew up during the Depression, so if something is "expensive," I can find ways around it. It's all a matter of how flexible and frugal you choose to be.

It's all about discretionary purchases. The reason why there are fast food restaurants on every corner is because Americans have decided they will pay more rather save their time and energy preparing meals. And that's an option but it's an option that is a losing proposition for the consumer. The chains can hike up prices and cut quality because they know how difficult it is for consumers to change their spending habits.

I don't need Starbucks or Dutch Bros. or Dunkin. I don't need McDonald's or Biscuitville or Huddle House. However, if I want to spend my discretionary money, I want some sort of value.

Caveat: There is NO great alternative in California or the Northeast. Based on our last two trips out west, residents there are only able to limit themselves to varying amounts of screwed. I could buy six breakfasts here in northeast Georgia for the one I got at a Denny's in Martinez last June. And prices at Safeway were crazy stupid.

Eggs in Florida last winter were outrageous: close to $6 per dozen. Well, at that price point I can think of a lot of other, cheaper protein options. Wheat prices went through the roof, too. So we chose to get our egg and toast fixes at breakfast places with senior discounts. Let the restaurant make up the cost.

Same with iceberg lettuce. It's been stuck at $2.49 a head (and shrunken heads, at that) for quite some time. Yesterday, we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch ($50 for two sirloin steaks!) and realized they're now charging for salads separately. That's fine because even at $1.50, the restaurant doesn't care if they aren't profiting on lettuce as long as you're willing to fork over $3.69 for a glass of carbonated sugar water.

I'm not paying $6 a box for cereal that I can get at Dollar General 2 for $4, plus an additional $5 on Saturday if I spend $25. Aldi's vegetables are cheaper than the Ingles. And Bojangle's offers a $5 senior two-piece dinner on Wednesdays. The local IGA sells ground beef for $3.19 a pound. I can make a lot of better bigger burgers than McDonald's for that price.

Convenience vs. cost. Supply and demand. There are three times as many fast food outlets in town than there were 10 years ago, but the population hasn't grown anywhere close to that. It's because the current generation (and the majority of us, to be honest) wants instant gratification -- and they provide it for a price.

But options exist. Nobody's forcing anyone at gunpoint to sit in line at In 'N Out or Chick-fil-A. (Although I'm guessing everyone in our Chick-fil-A is packing heat.)

If nobody bought outrageously priced Egg McMuffins, there wouldn't be nearly as many McDonald's as there are. Because as was pointed out, the food they serve isn't worth the cost. But people do, and McDonald's executives say thankyouverymuch.

 

Can we go back to regular programming on this channel? Shouldn’t that be in Economy channel?

 

Not until I get more info about whatever the restaurant called Biscuitville is!!!