A group of Democratic senators criticized McDonald's for its price hikes and its “dominant market position” as the nation's largest fast food chain.
In a letter sent to McDonald's management, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Bob Casey (Pennsylvania), and Ron Wyden (Oregon) said: The company asked the CEO to explain the chain's pricing, which it said was higher than necessary for accounting purposes. Because of inflation.
“While McDonald's is not the only fast food restaurant to significantly raise prices in recent years, McDonald's' dominant market position as the largest fast food chain in the United States has a significant impact on American consumers.” said the senators. stated in a statement. “While working families are trying to make ends meet, McDonald's and its affiliates continue to grow profits.”
That letter is NBC News first reported. The senators said that while McDonald's US President Joe Erlinger tried to blame inflation and the company's raw material costs for the company's menu price hikes, “the data tells a different story.”
“Fast food prices have consistently outpaced inflation since the COVID-19 pandemic, with overall inflation up 20% since 2020, and McDonald's significantly increasing menu prices for some items. ,” the senators said.
The senators said McDonald's net income increased by 79%, or about $8.5 billion, between 2020 and 2023.
“Corporate profits should not come at the expense of people's ability to put food on the table,” the senators said. “As we explore and try to understand the increase in consumer costs in the economy, we hope McDonald's can help us understand why prices have risen so much.”
McDonald's criticized the senators' letter in a statement to The Hill, saying the company and its franchisees are “committed to maintaining affordability.”
“This letter demonstrates a lack of understanding of our franchise business model and contains factual distortions and numerous inaccuracies,” the company said in a statement. “For example, consider the components of a $5 meal deal with McChicken. They would have cost 15% more in 2020 than they do today. This is the opposite of price gouging.”
McDonald's said it would respond to the Democratic Party's letter and, in the meantime, would “be visible to our customers.”
The letter follows another political incident for McDonald.
Former President Trump visited a McDonald's in Pennsylvania on Sunday and worked at the drive-thru window and french fry station in a campaign stunt and an attempt to attack Vice President Harris' past employment at the restaurant.
