McDonalds has a multinational presence, along with taking regional pricing into account (meaning the prices of food items differ and adjusted based on GDP per capita), like a Big Mac is $6 before tax while the same is $2 in another country.
The menu is different by country (certain menu items are only available in that region, like how Japan has burgers with teriyaki sauce or rice buns) along with the menu being around ¥1500 for a tray while the same is $40 in the US.
I mean, have you tried McDonalds overseas? If so, is it cheaper when you consider regional pricing and what item do you wish was available at US McDonalds but only remains in that country? Is McDonalds in other countries better or worse?
They didn’t have cheap and decent mcdonald’s to compare too. At the tail end of it their parents were buying it if they had any. You and I are basically the crotchety old people who used to say “You used to get a burger and a drink for a quarter!”. I mean shit, fries and a drink used to be an after thought, now they basically double the price of a meal. The cheaper items like a regular cheeseburger, with pickup selected are 2.99 each at my local mcdonald’s. If you select the meal it makes it two cheeseburgers (so $6) and fries and drink for 11.89 for medium. Medium is barely any fries and drinks still cost them almost nothing yet it’s just about double.