Cutting Corners

Growing up I was told that burger patties made at Wendy’s were square because the founder, Dave Thomas, didn’t cut corners. They also had the memorable “Where’s the beef?” commercials where a group of ladies expressed their dissatisfaction with the amount of beef on their burger from another restaurant. If they were around today to ask the same question, the response might be “it’s on layaway.”

According to this article from Money.com, the cost of a pound of beef will set you back roughly the Federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25 if you buy the typical 20% fat variety. Grass fed and organically raised beef would require more time on the clock at minimum wage. When the current level was set back in the second half of 2009, that same pound of typical beef was roughly $2.20 a pound. You could get three pounds of beef for an hour of work back then, plenty for leftovers the next day.

The well-informed readers of this morning’s note are likely aware that many municipalities have higher minimum wages (just 20 states use the Federal guideline). But the “where’s the beef?” question lingers nevertheless as a symbol of the tighter squeeze we’re all facing. If a full hour of legally acceptable pay cannot cover the cost of a pound of one of the most basic proteins in the American diet, it raises the question of what else is growing out of reach for Americans flipping burgers and mopping floors after closing time.  Since 2020, grocery costs are up over 30% which likely requires the most vulnerable workers in the nation cut corners on their shopping list, turning a trip to the store into more of scavenger hunt for whatever is still remotely affordable.