Three Democratic senators accused McDonald’s of price gouging in a letter to the CEO sent on the day the fast-food behemoth said it has no record of Vice President Kamala Harris having worked there.
The letter from Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon questions recent McDonald’s price increases, saying they are outpacing inflation while the company’s profits are also rising.
“While McDonald’s is not the only fast food restaurant that has increased prices significantly in recent years, its dominant market position as the largest fast food chain in the United States has an outsize impact on American consumers,” the senators wrote to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski.
“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, fast food prices have consistently outpaced inflation, squeezing consumers who for decades were able to rely on restaurants like McDonald’s for a meal at a fair price,” they wrote.
The letter does not mention the recent kerfuffle over Ms. Harris and her claim to have worked at a McDonald’s as a college student.
Republican nominee Donald Trump has called that false and trolled Ms. Harris by visiting a Pennsylvania franchise Sunday, working the french fry machine, handing out drive-thru orders and saying he’s now worked there longer than Ms. Harris.
McDonald’s got involved after that visit when a memo to franchises said it had no record of Ms. Harris’ employment, though that isn’t definitive because record-survival in the pre-digital 1980s is far spottier than now.
One family friend has said in a contemporary interview that she remembers Ms. Harris having worked there, but no co-workers have come forward with memories of taking Big Mac orders with the future vice president.
In their note Monday, the senators noted that McDonald’s USA President Joe Erlinger has blamed the price increases on inflation and input costs, “but the data tells another story.”
“Since 2020, the Consumer Price Index has increased by 20%, but McDonald’s may have increased its menu prices for certain items by substantially more,” they wrote.
The fast food restaurant’s net annual income rose by over 79%, to a whopping $8.5 billion from 2020 to 2023, the letter noted.
“Corporate profits must not come at the expense of people’s ability to put food on the table. As we seek to investigate and understand the increased consumer costs in the economy, we hope McDonald’s will help us to understand why its prices have risen so high,” the senators wrote.
The Democratic senators are echoing one of Ms. Harris’ top campaign talking points.
When asked what she would do to curb inflation — often the top issue in polls about voters’ concerns — the vice president will first and frequently blame price gouging and corporate greed. She vows to crack down on them, if she’s elected president.
In a statement to NBC in response to the senators’ letter, the company denied price gouging.
McDonald’s noted that some of its menu items have actually become cheaper, relative to the prices for the ingredients, and that the letter “demonstrates a lack of understanding of our franchise business model and contains contortions of facts and many inaccuracies.”
“McDonald’s and our franchisees are committed to keeping prices affordable — from the everyday prices on our menu boards, to our popular $5 Meal Deal and other offers available locally or on the App,” the company said. “Take the components of the $5 Meal Deal with McChicken, for example — which would have cost 15% more in 2020 than they do today. That’s the opposite of price gouging.”
In a fundraising email after his McDonald’s visit, Mr. Trump had another idea about who or what is to blame for rising food and fast-food prices.
“I am the first and only 2024 presidential nominee to work at McDonald’s,” the email said. “But thanks to Kamala, prices for a meal are through the roof!”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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