Chicken Fried Steak supper is the item that sets the minimum wage???
A couple of us old farts were chatting yesterday and got on the subject of food and costs…
One of them remembered getting a Chicken Fried Steak supper for $1.25 back in the 60s, which was the minimum wage.
I did some digging and found a couple of prices from the 1980s, and a Chicken Fried Steak supper was around $3.50. The minimum wage was $3.35!
In the early 2000s, a Chicken Fried Steak supper was up between $5-6 dollars. The minimum wage was $5.15!
Now? A Chicken Fried Steak supper runs between $12-15… And lots of places are pushing a $15 minimum wage…
Odd that…
YMMV, IANAL, etc…
Might have something to do with both the cost of labour required to produce it, and the price-tolerance or perception-of-value of the customer.There’s a limit to the degree to which putting a traditional hot plate of freshly-cooked etc, on the table or counter in front of you, can be automated.
Well, the above cost analysis does make some sense. Don’t forget to add on the cost of the tip for the bus boy. I now include that as part of the cost of a meal.
I forget who it was, but wrote that the price of an ounce of gold matched the cost of a fitted suit. Not sure if that is still true today.
A really good off-the-rack then fitted suit, yes. A good hand-tailored one, not so much.
Was just up at Las Vegas a few days ago and just for curiosity I walked into a Hugo Boss men’s store in the Caesar’s Forum shops. A fitted jacket, pants, a fitted men’s collared shirt and a tie would just about total $1750 – close to 1oz gold.
Hugo Boss suit jackets have “pick” stitching along the edges of the shawl collar and lapel, which is done by hand.
(Example: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b7/8b/93/b78b935b94ee9c3cc280bf57ee79667f.jpg)
That still sounds about correct for the low end, for a served sit-down meal. Chicken-fried steak is at least warm, filling, and good for your hunger.
The ounce of gold for a tailored suit is still reasonably correct at the high end.
Funny how the price of labor is one of the major factors in the cost of a product – especially a product that is labor intensive.
If only economists actually studied economies.
Peter- Good point!
jrg- I hadn’t heard that, but it also makes sense, as long as you don’t count the WESTPAC tailors in that equation…
PK- Thanks, and yes, it’s good!
John- Ya think??? 🙂 Of course CFS could also just be a southern/southwestern thing too…
Country fried steak is fairly common in at least parts of the Midwest, but I don’t recall seeing it (under that name or as chicken fried steak) much on menus growing up in the Northeast, other than at Cracker Barrel. The Schoolhouse Restaurant near Milford, OH has an awesome CFS.
You’d find it in more German-oriented areas, under schnitzel. But with brown gravy, not white.
Sometimes, yes. But if I run out to random diners and cafes in the Midwest, I’m likely to see it on the menu. That wasn’t the case in the Northeast.
I get your point but the picture turns me off. Not enough gravy!
X2 more gravy.
Y’all can have my gravy. Yes, I’m a barbarian.
Damn. Now I’m hungry.
Indexing a chicken fried steak meal to the minimum wage is an interesting subject. It’s like the Mcdonald’s rule (broken with the Russian invasion of Ukraine) wherein no two countries with Mcdonald’s have ever gone to war with each other.
$15 seems a little high for a chicken fried steak dinner unless it comes with sweet tea and dessert…
There’s also a near linear relationship between minimum wage and the price of a ticket to Disney World.
Or the price of a soda from a vending machine.
Almost as if the price of labor determines the cost of goods directly…
Guy- Thanks!
TOS/Beans- CFS/Schnitzel same same… LOL Steak vs. Pork.
WSF/LL- True, but that picture didn’t cover the CFS, so you could actually see it…
TXRed- Yes you are!!! 😉
JMI- LOL
LL- True, and it depends on location.
Angus- Exactly!!!
I’ve been tracking food prices this year. Pound of butter, pound of hamburger, etc. If inflation on food keeps up at this current rate it will be 110% +/- 30% based on your mix of foods. Already 40% since March when I started to keep track.
Yes-I know how complex the BLS makes the CPI. Me, I love some simple as complexity allows you to hide a lot of BS.
CFS index – I approve.
Xoph- Exactly, but they DO hide a lot of stuff… sigh…
The (bread) bakery in my neighborhood said that a bag of flour was $15 or less seven months ago, it is now 25+ dollars a bag. He’s paying over $1600 a week for oil to heat his ovens. Crazy.
Mrs.C- That… ouch!!!