> These days though they're just like everyone else and have cut cut cut and prices have risen. The restaurant has gone to crap too

Aren't restaurants a totally local thing? They have vastly different offers eg in slovenia compared to italy (i visit both quite often), except for maybe hotdogs and cinnabuns... somehow the main ikea prices are different too.

The reason why companies cut jobs while increasing prices for the same or worse products...... is.... wait for it..... money printing. NOT some new found level of corporate greed, companies have ALWAYS been greedy. It's not a change in greed. It's the result of the covid shutdowns where money printing was increased at the same time as the production of goods and services declined. That economic imbalance is still being felt, and of course money printing has re-accelerated after the big inflation scare caused them to temporarily cool it down.

Kind of. I just compared US to PL. We have much more choices here in PL, and breakfast is completely different. Meals are mostly different, but have a lot of common ingredients ( like iconic beans and meat balls). Us has no soups at all, while we have 5 kinds. Cakes are similar, but again we have much more choices.