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December 27, 2007
I'm Lovin' It!
Don Boudreaux
George Will celebrates a great American institution: McDonald's. Here's a key paragraph:
McDonald's exemplifies the role of small businesses in Americans' upward mobility. The company is largely a confederation of small businesses: 85 percent of its U.S. restaurants -- average annual sales, $2.2 million -- are owned by franchisees. McDonald's has made more millionaires, and especially black and Hispanic millionaires, than any other economic entity ever, anywhere.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Food and Drink, Seen and Unseen, Standard of Living | Permalink
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Comments
I have not eaten at McDonald's in may years. But McDonald's offers one positive externality that I have come to appreciate: the presence of a clean rest room that is open to the public.
Posted by: The Dirty Mac | Dec 27, 2007 8:40:07 AM
McDonald's has also helped three generations of young men and women learn basic work habits. My small businesses have hired at least ten former McDonald's workers since 1993. I don't remember being disappointed by any of them.
Posted by: John Dewey | Dec 27, 2007 10:55:29 AM
Those really are great points.
Posted by: Chris Meisenzahl | Dec 27, 2007 3:59:25 PM
.
" I go to McDonald's and Burger King on occasion... they are pretty good; they're clean, and you know what you're getting.
I don't know why anyone would think I always dine on hummingbirds' tongues or something."
-- Chef Julia Child
Posted by: Harris | Dec 27, 2007 6:08:54 PM
And many of those burger-flippers started out at minimum wage.
I have my own economic barometer: When times are tough, the entry-level folks remain in place long enough at MacD's or BK to build skills and show obvious competence.
But when times improve, the good ones move on to better jobs, and the fast-food customer confronts a new round of bottom-rungers.
Posted by: True_Liberal | Dec 27, 2007 6:49:20 PM
Oh, come on! Noone can live on the wages Mc Donalds pays its workers (slaves)! Their ecsploiting there workers and not giving them healthcare.
Ray Kroc and Sam Walton are evil capitalist bastards who are rotting in hell for they're ecsploitation of poor people. They prolly don't even think global warming is manmade.
I just thought I'd say that before Murthaduck logged in :)
Posted by: brotio | Dec 27, 2007 9:46:55 PM
Harris quoted Julia, and that is just spot-on. It isn't haute cuisine, but you know what you are going to get, no matter where you are in the U.S. That is a plus for people who travel frequently, since trying out a strange cafe or diner usually ends in disappointment.
Posted by: skh.pcola | Dec 28, 2007 2:11:51 AM
Wow, thanks for the heads up that great!
Posted by: Mathieu Bédard | Dec 28, 2007 7:21:01 AM
Oh, come on, brotio! No one expects to live on starting wage in a fast-food joint. Kroc and Walton knew as well as anyone that to attract a large and loyal customer base, they had to keep costs under control.
They also had to have a consistent quality across their franchises, and therein lies the rub: with labor as with anything else, you have to keep a close watch on costs vs quality. The fastfood places thus provide good training to the entry-level folks, and that training is VERY valuable to kids who have no skills, no resume.
(BTW - where did you learn to spell? You have a unique vocabulary - noone, ecsploiting, prolly...)
Posted by: True_Liberal | Dec 28, 2007 4:59:26 PM
True,
I learnt to spell from Murthaduck :p
Posted by: brotio | Dec 28, 2007 8:37:47 PM
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