There are certain jobs that are created that were never meant to support a family on. They were ways to make some extra cash or provide part time employment for kids to have some cash.
I believe McDonald’s jobs were created with this in mind. The owner’s family was supposed to be the main employment infrastructure; then supported by part timers to supplement the busier times.
Granted this was well before 24 hour McDonalds or when they served breakfast.
But where the business model changed, the economics behind the model remained the same. Now to thrive with a McDonald’s you have to own multiple locations to allow some flexibility with purchasing powers.
But the $1 menu items still has the Service fees of 4% and the advertising and promotion costs of 4%. So $.08 is already gone before they start with the costs of the burger.
With the increase in the Cook County minimum wage this is not going to assist these workers with a higher standard of living. In 2020 a couple each working full time at the $13 minimum wage with no over time will be making $27,040 each or a household income of $54,080.
This is not enough to buy a home in most of the Chicago area, let alone have the promised life style that has been sold to the people.
Because the costs of all goods and services are going to be increasing, right along with the pay increases. It is also probable that employers will hesitate on taking on new workers. If this occurs the low end job market will become tighter.
With the loss of low skilled entry level positions in manufacturing, McDonald’s and its ilk have become the defacto careers for the undereducated. This is not what they were created to be, but this is what they are and forcing wage increases on the business owners is not going to fix the problem.