The Great 'McFlation': Bidenomics' Failure Revealed In One Chart

The primary appeal of fast-food burgers (even though the food is horrible for your health) is cheap and fast. In recent weeks, McDonald's indirectly admitted that three years of 'McFlation' was crushing burger demand among working-poor consumers, and there was an urgent need within the burger chain to reintroduce the $5 meal deal

X users have been disgusted with $18 Big Mac meals at some of the burger chain's restaurants nationwide.

Some were even reminded of the good old days when the same meal cost $5—right before the GFC and right before the Federal Reserve embarked on a decade of zero-bound interest rates and trillions of dollars in money printing that fueled financial asset bubbles. 

Fast forward to today, the persistent inflation storm is being driven by the US Treasury spending like it's in a depression (or spending an absurd $1 trillion every 100 days).

Bidenomics' stealth stimulus has resulted in massive economic miscalculation by the federal government and the Federal Reserve. It's not just ZeroHedge saying this, but Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller recently gave Bidenomics an "F." 

the great mcflation bidenomics failure revealed in one chart

Real wages for most consumers have been terrible under Biden's first term. But not under Trump's... 

the great mcflation bidenomics failure revealed in one chart

As the election cycle heats up, X user End Wokeness has reminded everyone about elevated food inflation impacting menu prices at McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A. The data compared year-end 2019 menu prices at the three restaurants with current prices. The results are startling: Some menu items are up triple digits in several or so years. 

the great mcflation bidenomics failure revealed in one chart

Food inflation has been problematic for Biden's campaign team to navigate. They've already given up on 'Bidenomics.' 

More recently, Biden's team has used popular buzzwords 'greedflation' and 'shrinkflation' to convince voters why Big Macs in certain states and towns now cost $18. This is a significant pivot from blaming 'Putin Price Hikes' for every economic mishap. 

It's difficult to believe Biden's greedflation story because government data shows that retail prices for ground beef and chicken have surged and remained elevated. Also, major commodity indexes tracked by Bloomberg and the United Nations have yet to come back down to Earth. All of this indicates companies had to push up prices to protect margins. 

the great mcflation bidenomics failure revealed in one chart

The current issue is that inflation is being driven by reaccelerating commodity prices, while the US government is spending as if it's in a depression.

Meanwhile, clueless Democrats who ignore out-of-control government spending as the root cause of inflation are demanding price controls on food, similar to what communists or socialists do in third-world countries. The only problem with that is that price controls can trigger shortages or surpluses, longer lines, lower quality products, and, of course, misallocation of products.

Authored by Tyler Durden via ZeroHedge May 21st 2024