So if the price of a McChicken had kept up with inflation we'd be at 1.22
But inflation isn't a flat percent just like IQ isn't. And almost everytime we experience inflation, it's hits the essentials the hardest. Food, housing, medical care, all that shit goes up at much higher rates than things people don't really need.
Because if they raise the price too much, people just stop buying them
If all the landlords decide to raise rent due to inflation, everyone still has to pay.
When the handful of grocery chain decide to increase costs, it's still cheaper than ordering out, and everyone has to eat
Inflation has always been an excuse for everyone to simultaneously raise their prices without it being collusion.
I think the dollar menu is "sticky". It was a dollar for years because it was a loss leader. Well, maybe more of a marketing gimmick. "Dollar twenty five menu" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
But yes. Picking any one benchmark for inflation is stupid. You might as well pick oil or lumber.
Around here, the €1 hamburger 15y ago cost €1.3 a year ago which is more or less the inflation. This year it is at €1.6
The last 2 years prices for food went up a bit more than the inflation, but not that much more. But as with anything that's basic needs, it impacts the poor a lot more.
Now if you look at vegetables and other fresh food, it's even worse and I think it's a lot more important than the cheapest burger at McDonald's that was way too cheap to begin with.