Still, if the "real" inflation rate was ~10% starting in 1996 then a $5 burger today supposedly cost ~$0.30 in 1996.

A lot of soda vending machines will sell a 20oz bottle of soda for ~$2.50. Were soda vending machines selling bottles of soda for $0.15 back then? No.

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cpburns2009 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

I distinctly remember McDonald's regular hamburgers costing around $0.30-0.40 in the mid '90s which costs around $4 now.

	▲	vel0city 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		McDonald's regular hamburgers don't cost anywhere near $4 for most people. A hamburger at the McDonald's down the street from me costs $1.59. A cheeseburger costs $1.79. A double cheeseburger costs $2.79. A Quarter Pounder w/Cheese meal today is ~$8 today, in the 90s it was ~$3. I remember you could get two cheeseburgers for a dollar in the late 90s, so ~$0.50. The inflation rate for something to go from $0.50 to $1.79 that's a 4.5% inflation rate, still quite a way off from people's arguments of 10%. And for the QPC meal comparison, that's ~3.3%. Higher than 2% for sure, but its also a single restaurant comparison on a single item here where its highest cost component (beef patty) has experienced overall higher rates of inflation compared to most other things. A restaurant that many people feel has gone up in price more than expectations of the rest of prices. Link for the $3 90's price for a QPC: https://wealthgang.com/mcdonalds-prices-throughout-the-years...

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bombcar 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Guys and Dolls has 15 cent hot dogs advertised in one of the shots.

Gas station hot dogs are about $1.50 now.

Which is less than I’d have expected it to be, to be honest.

	▲	vel0city 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		For a good to go from ~$0.15 to ~$1.50 from 1930 to 2025, the annual inflation rate would be... ...about 2.45% per year. And I'd probably take a 2025 hotdog over a 1930 hotdog, there's been a lot of food safety regulations passed since.