Do you want to see a very clear sign that our standard of living has gone way down? When I was growing up, middle class and low-income Americans flocked to fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s. But now we are being told that high prices have “driven away lower-income customers” from McDonald’s, and Wendy’s is being forced to close hundreds of locations. Most of us just can’t afford it anymore. U.S. consumers are being squeezed financially to a degree that we have never seen before, and as a result most of them have very little discretionary income to spend.
I clearly remember a time when it was very common for parents to stop at McDonald’s on the way home and pick up Happy Meals for their children because they were so inexpensive.
Needless to say, that wasn’t a very healthy choice, but at least the food was dirt cheap.
But now it is being reported that “Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation”…
McDonald’s executives say the higher costs of restaurant essentials, such as beef and salaries, have pushed food prices up and driven away lower-income customers who are already being squeezed by the rising cost of groceries, clothes, rent and child care.
With prices for everything rising, consumer companies concerned about the pressures on low-income Americans include food, automotive and airline businesses, among others, said analyst Adam Josephson. “The list goes on and on,” he said.
“Happy Meals at McDonald’s are prohibitively expensive for some people, because there’s been so much inflation,” Josephson said.
This makes me so sad.
If you are old enough, you still remember when fast food chains couldn’t open up new locations fast enough because there was so much demand.
But now the cost of living crisis is forcing Wendy’s to permanently close down hundreds of locations…
Fast food giant Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of its U.S. stores next year as part of a broader effort to revive its domestic business, which has been under pressure from slowing sales.
Interim CEO Ken Cook said during the company’s earnings call on Friday that a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its 6,011 U.S. restaurants are expected to close next year. A mid-single-digit percentage is about 4% to 6%, which means the least number of closures would be 241 stores.
America was once a nation that was absolutely teeming with inexpensive beef.
And that was a wonderful thing.
But now the size of the U.S. cattle herd has fallen to the lowest level in 75 years, and even the L.A. Times is admitting that beef prices “have skyrocketed”…
Beef prices have skyrocketed, with inventory of the U.S. cattle herd at the lowest in 75 years due to the toll of drought and parasites. And exports of beef bound to the U.S. are down because of Trump’s trade war and tariffs. As a result, the prices of ground beef sold in supermarkets is up 13% in September, year over year.
Do you remember all those times that I wrote how the size of the U.S. cattle herd was shrinking?
At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal to many people.
But it sure is a big deal now.
Sadly, this is just the beginning.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is warning that the price of beef could cross the 10 dollar per pound threshold in 2026…
Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Bessent addressed reports that beef prices could hit $10 per pound next year, saying it was an issue “inherited” by the administration due to long-standing factors.
“There’s also, because of the mass immigration, a disease that we’d been rid of in North America made its way up through South America as these migrants brought some of their cattle with them,” Bessent said.
He added: “So part of the problem is we’ve had to shut the border to Mexican beef because of this disease called the screwworm.”
Beef is now considered to be a “luxury meat”, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.
In 2026 and beyond, expect to see a lot more “food products” that contain insect protein in our grocery stores.
Our standard of living is going down.
Those that cannot see that are blind.
There is a reason why 42 million Americans are on food stamps.
Unfortunately for many of them, new restrictions will “kick millions out of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in the next few months”…
Millions of Americans greeted the end of the government shutdown — and the resumption of food stamp benefits — with relief. But others are learning they could soon lose federal food aid permanently.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins directed USDA staff during the record-setting 43-day shutdown to continue ushering states toward compliance with Republicans’ signature tax and spending law, which is projected to kick millions out of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program in the next few months.
And apparently those that still qualify will soon be forced to reapply for benefits…
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday the Trump administration will require all participants in the nation’s largest food assistance program to reapply for benefits in an effort to prevent fraud.
Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports more than 40 million Americans, will need to demonstrate that their households still meet eligibility requirements to continue receiving benefits.
Rollins said SNAP, meant to be a lifeline for low-income households, was among the first priorities she targeted for review, citing concerns about eligibility and oversight.
This is going to make a lot of people very, very angry.
The rising cost of health insurance is also making a lot of people very, very angry.
One woman that recently lost her workplace coverage was horrified to learn that they cheapest plan that her family qualified for was $2,500 a month…
This American does not qualify for any subsidized health insurance
It’s her, her husband and 3 kids. A family of 5
The cheapest plan she can get on marketplace is $2,500 per month
This is absolutely unsustainable. Families literally can’t afford to have children in America
Our system is so broken.
There is a reason why so many Americans absolutely detest it.
As just about everything becomes more expensive, more Americans than ever feel like they are drowning financially.
And delinquencies are rising at a pace that we haven’t seen since the Great Recession…
As borrowing costs rise and savings thin out, more Americans are falling behind on their bills. Serious delinquencies—people who are at least 90 days late—have now surpassed 3 percent, a threshold not seen since before the last financial crisis. Student loan borrowers are under even greater strain: more than 14 percent became severely overdue in the most recent quarter, marking the worst level in the Fed’s data history.
Working harder and making more money is not necessarily the answer either.
USA Today recently published an article that discussed the fact that large numbers of Americans that are making more than six figures a year are now in “survival mode”…
A six-figure salary doesn’t mean what it once did.
That’s the takeaway from a new Harris poll, which suggests a six-figure income in 2025 equates to survival, but not necessarily to success.
One in three six-figure earners described themselves in the poll as financially distressed. Two in three said six-figure pay is not a sign of wealth.
This is not going to end well.
For years I have been documenting the destruction of the middle class, and now the evisceration of America’s middle class has gone into overdrive.
I don’t understand why more people can’t see what they are doing to us.
Yes, the wealthy are getting wealthier, but the vast majority of the rest of us are getting the raw end of the deal.
If you are deeply struggling in this very difficult economic environment, please know that you aren’t alone.
There are millions upon millions of Americans that are scrambling to find a way to survive, and what we have been through so far is just the tip of the iceberg.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
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