Day 37- $1 a day

I ate out twice today. For lunch I spent $1 on a cheesy, greasy, McBurger-something, and for dinner I spent $1 at a dim sum place on Clement- ordering two shrimp ball things and a pork bun. The dim sum was good, but the burger tasted pretty gross.

Today I committed to eating off the "dollar value" menu of a fast food restaurant because those are the places that many lower-income American people are likely to eat. I have found the opposite to be true in developing countries-- the rich have the option of eating at fast food chains and the poor eat the 25 cent meals cooked by sidewalk vendors.

I actually did some unofficial research on this during my travels around the world a few years ago. In every country where I visited, if I spotted a McDonalds I walked in and looked at the price board to see how much a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Meal cost. Then I converted the currency and recorded how much the meal was in U.S. dollars. This is what I found:
• In Paris- $8.00
• In Prague- $7.00
• In Australia and New Zealand- $5.00
• In Budapest, Zagreb, Istanbul, Dubai, - $4.00
• In Bangkok- $2.50
• In India- $2.00

Of course in India they don’t have beef burgers on account of the sacred cow thing, so there I compared a chicken or fish “burger” to a Quarter Pounder. But in India and Thailand I especially noticed that only upper-middle class and rich people were in McDonalds nibbling on French fries and slurping down shakes.

I usually steer clear of national fast food restaurants partly because of the documentary "Super Size Me", partly because of the book "Fast Food Nation", partly because I don't own a car in which to "drive thru", but mostly because in my neighborhood there are so many inexpensive, family-owned, quick restaurants that I don't feel the need to seek out a national chain.

But it’s crystal clear that the convenience, the marketing, and the relatively low cost of taking a whole family out to dinner are all factors that appeal to people who frequent fast food chains. It is reported that Ray Kroc (franchiser of McDonalds) “did everything he could to keep costs down so that even low income people could afford a meal out at McDonalds.” In the 1950’s that was considered a good thing. In 2009, I’m not so sure Mr. Kroc has done the poor a favor.

Here is a photo of an art piece that I bought in a Nashville gallery last year. I love it! It took me a long time to notice that the stripes are french fries...