The Washington Post‘s Taylor Lorenz (and some other guy) have penned an ‘explainer’ on why a TikTok video of a $16 McDonald’s hamburger is misleading, inflation isn’t that bad, and the viral clip is just some guy who ordered a ‘novelty item’ which ended up with him ‘racking up hundreds of thousands of views.’
Lorenz (and sidekick), noting that it wasn’t just a ‘Big Mac meal,’ smelled blood in the water.
Even though he had ordered a novelty item, Olive’s video about a $16 McDonald’s order went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. After a McDonald’s revenue report recently, the same post went viral again earlier this month, with at least a half-dozen news outlets — including the Washington Examiner, the New York Post and Newsmax — picking up the story of Olive’s pricey patty. One YouTube video from this month with 2 million views inaccurately describes it as “a Big Mac meal” that cost $16. Posts on Reddit, the conservative site Twitchy and elsewhere tied the cost to President Biden’s economic management: Inflation, the theory went, had gotten so out of control that the price of a fast-food burger was approaching $20.
The article then proffers this ‘viral’ hamburger incident as “one of many exaggerated examples of the nation’s economic woes.”
I bought a Sausage McMuffin combo the other day for $8.37. It cost $4.78 two years ago. Go figure.
— Peter J Forcelli (@Forcelli_Author) November 26, 2023
An anonymous White House official then whispered in Lorenz’ ear, after she wrote: “In reality, inflation has been steadily subsiding, and last week the government reported price hikes had eased yet again in October. The average Big Mac nationally as of this summer cost $5.58, up from $4.89 — or roughly 70 cents — before Biden took office, according to an index maintained by the Economist. That’s up more than 10 percent, but it’s not $16.“
The Big Mac conundrum reflects what Biden aides and senior Democratic officials regard as one of their most vexing challenges ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Even as inflation has fallen to a manageable 3 percent, and although the labor market has remained hot amid strong growth, voters still don’t like the economy, and they blame the president. -WaPo
The WaPo piece aligns perfectly with a White House campaign to convince Americans things are better than ever, and Biden rocks, and he was only inspecting those children for lice.
KJP: “This holiday season, families are seeing lower prices on everyday items from gas to groceries.” pic.twitter.com/6RE0nSQlJ0
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) November 27, 2023
Of course, regular readers know better than to believe the Biden administration and its media tentacles.
And when you exclude food and energy:
And what’s this, buried towards the bottom of the WaPo report, they admit that disposable income has fallen like a rock.
So it’s officially less shitty than the shittiest it’s been under Biden, but still not as good as it was under Trump. Thanks Taylor (and guy) for explaining Bidenomics!
Tyler Durden
Mon, 11/27/2023 – 20:40
