When McDonalds opened in 1948 they charged $0.15 for a burger. It stayed at $0.15 until 1967, when the price increased to $0.18.
In 1966, the last year a McDonalds burger cost $0.15 the median income in the US was $7,400, in today's money that is $73,648.33 — 4 thousand dollars a year below the national average.
$0.15 in 1966 in 2025 dollars is $1.49. A burger at my local McDonalds is 3 dollars minimum plus tax so 4 dollars on average.
In 60 years where the median salary has not changed in the US, your normal burger over doubled in price, is made with worse ingredients, the store is staffed by foreigners, and can't put mustard in the bag when asked.
This exact scenario is the story of every single thing I have interacted with in my life and is why everyone is angry.
in retrospect, maybe food with this caloric density being available at such stunningly low prices was a civilizationally historic aberration, a relic of the dying american century, never to return