McDonald's Has Tips for Their Poor (Very Poor) Employees!

Image from source, Think Progress

If you've ever been poor, you know how to stretch a dollar. You make big, cheap meals that have lots of left-overs. You eat a lot of Top Ramen. You switch to store brand everything, buy things out of the mark-down bin, shop at Big Lots or the dollar store. You get a part time job if you can, or squeeze in odd jobs for cash. If that's not enough, you might have a yard sale, or if you're really industrious, you might sell some things online. If you need money faster, maybe you opt for a pawn shop. And if you're truly desperate (and a little short on reasoning skills) you might go to a payday/title loan outfit.

I've been there. Once when I was first starting out as an adult, and once (a very long once) when I got into debt through a combination of bad decisions, bad luck and bad timing. Of course, you get advice from people, if you're willing to talk about your problems. All of the above and more. Some of it is useful, and a lot of it isn't.

But what if you were getting advice from the employer who pays you the crappy wages that perpetuate the reason you're poor? Well then (kind of like the Walmart help-a-needy-associate bins),  it can come off as insulting.

[Excerpt]

McDonald’s Advice To Underpaid Employees: Sell Your Christmas Presents For Cash
 
Tis the season for holiday spirit: Yule logs, egg nog, festive lights and exchanging gifts with loved ones. If you work for McDonald’s, though, be sure to save those receipts. McDonald’s McResource Line, a dedicated website run by the world’s largest fast-food chain to provide its 1.8 million employees with financial and health-related tips, offers a full page of advice for “Digging Out From Holiday Debt.” Among their helpful holiday tips: “Selling some of your unwanted possessions on eBay or Craigslist could bring in some quick cash. . .”

Read more at: Think Progress

Doubling McDonalds' Paychecks Wouldn't Raise Menu Prices Much

Not McDonald's food, but one of several facts HuffPo
says the fast food industry doesn't want you to know.

Remember awhile back when the Papa John's founder (John McDoucherson, I think) balked at "ObamaCare," saying it would "force" him to raise the price of his pizzas by 14 cents each? And most rational people thought, "Wow! For 14 cents, the pizza workers can have health care? Great!" Well, except conservatives who for some reason don't want that. Anyway, the point is, nobody is going to cancel their pizza order over 14 cents, and look at all the good that would do.

Presently, McDonalds (and Walmart and others) are all in a twist over raising the minimum wage. Even though doing so wouldn't necessarily hurt business. In fact, it would create a larger base of consumers who can--you know--afford to buy things. What's more, given the big corporations' multi-billion dollar profits, they actually could afford to raise all of their workers' salaries, and still make a profit, just less profit. Or, they could raise their prices. But really, not all that much. Check out the story excerpted below.

And in a sidebar, I'd love a clarification on something. We hear, virtually every quarter, that Exxon-Mobil, BP and Shell have had record-breaking profits. In fact the biggest profits in the history of man. McDonalds makes billions too. A number of companies do. And then there's Walmart, with its handful of very, very lucky heirs. They rake in tens of billions in profits per year, per person! What is it to Alice Walton if she makes $10 billion this year, rather than $20 billion, but her employees can afford to shop in her own store? I'd seriously like to know, where do all of these multi-billions in profits go anyway? How much can Sheldon Adelson, for example, spend before he crumbles to dust? Why do the mega-rich try so hard to get even more mega-rich, while their employees can barely scrape by?

[Excerpt]

Doubling McDonald's Salaries Would Cause Your Big Mac To Cost Just 68¢ More: Study

McDonald's can afford to pay its workers a living wage without sacrificing any of its low menu prices, according to a new study provided to The Huffington Post by a University of Kansas student. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Blast from the Past: Fast Food of the 70s & 80s

I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, which is for some reason a hotbed of chain restaurants. I don't mean they just have a lot of them, but that many originated there. Oh, they don't all still exist. But Wendy's is the best known of the bunch, and it's still going strong.  This weekend, on one of my many Wikipedia/YouTube/Internet time wasting labyrinths, I started looking at a bunch of the old restaurants I remembered that aren't around any more. There are a ton of them. But how many commercials are available? I thought I'd find out. . .

And then I gave up. I tried to find Big Bite, BBF, Borden Burger, GD Ritzy's, Daddy-O's, Rax,  and others, but no dice. So, I decided to just find some of the better ads from what is there. Hey, at least I found Burger Chef!




1. Burger Chef - Incrediburgible! Burger Chef & Jeff were the characters, and the "Fun Meal" predated the "Happy Meal." Burger Chef was at least as popular with us kids as McDonald's.
2. Wendy's - "Parts is Parts." A classic commercial from a time period when Wendy's had the funniest commercials on the air.
3. Jack in the Box - Before Jack became one of the best (and funniest) pitchmen on TV, he was a tired, silly old clown that the chain wanted to dispose of. And they did.
4. Arby's - This tragically 80s commercial shows why Arby's has always sort of been an also-ran.
5. McDonald's - Is there any reason that I should still know that a Big Mac is composed of "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun?"
6. Wendy's- Yes, Wendy's again, because they really did have the funniest commercials in the 80s, which this "Soviet fashion show" proves.

That's it for this week. And while I was a failure in my quest for defunct fast-food joints, there was a ton to choose from for ones that are still around. I may have  do a sequel tomorrow. Happy Monday!

UPDATE!:  I found a commercial for one of my favorite defunct fast-food joints, Sisters Chicken & Biscuits. It was a chain of fried chicken places owned by Wendy's, and started--of course--in Columbus. They had awesome green beans with bacon and a delicious rice dish. Their biscuits were fantastic, and so was their chicken fried steak. I don't know if the joint failed because of profits or what, but their food was several notches higher in quality than any other fast food place.

Blast from the Past: Classic 70s Commercials!

I couldn't think of any one topic for this week's Blast from the Past, but I knew I wanted to get away from music, and focus on nostalgia alone.  While surfing the YouTubes, I found several old classic commercials from the 70s, but not for any one thing.  So, here's a hodge-podge of product pitches from this blogger's youth. . .








1. Hawaiian Punch - That poor tourist sap always got his punch.
2. Starkist Tuna - For some reason, Charlie the tuna wanted to be killed and eaten.
3. Life Cereal - This is probably one of the most famous commercials of the 70s, and yet whenever somebody asks "What's this stuff?" and I answer "some cereal" nobody ever gets it.
4. Connect Four - Pretty sneaky, sis. . .
5. Oscar Meyer Bologna - If the Life Cereal commercial is one of the 70s most famous, this one might be THE most famous. Oscar Meyer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!
6. Nestle Quick - Loved the Quick Bunny as a kid. It's so rich and thick, and chock-o-lit. . .
7. Purina Cat Chow - Crazy Cat Lady teaches cat to dance! Chow Chow Chow!
8. McDonald's Big Mac - Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun! Okay, now I'm hungry. . .

Happy Monday everybody!

AFA Boycotting "Pro-Gay" McDonald's

Image from source, Think Progress

Oh, for Pete's sake. These creepy family groups--American Family Association chief among them--see the gay lurking behind every corner, don't they? It makes you wonder why they're so preoccupied with the subject. And really, AFA, do you think you can bring down McDonald's? Tilting at windmills again! Oh wait, that's from Man of La Mancha. . .which is sorta gay!

[Excerpt]

American Family Association Launches Boycott Against McDonald’s For ‘Promoting The Homosexual Agenda’

Today, the right-wing American Family Association (AFA) announced a boycott of McDonald’s. According to AFA, Ronald McDonald and his gang are part of giant gay agenda. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Ten Commandments on a Sesame Seed Bun

Photo from source, WorldNetDaily.com

I'm not at all surprised by this story. I am agnostic, but I am fairly well versed in religion--particularly Christianity. I usually clean up in the Jeopardy! religion questions, even in double-jeopardy. But, if pressed, I'm positive that I couldn't name all of the ten commandments. Could you?

On the other hand, what's on a Big Mac? Without even looking it up, "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!" The Brady Bunch family members? Carol, Mike, Bobby, Peter, Greg, Marcia, Jan and Cindy. And let's not forget Alice the maid, and Tiger the dog.

But as an agnostic, the full list of the ten commandments is of little importance. I am aware that only a few of them have anything to do with morality. Most are just God on an ego-trip: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me!" Kinda makes you think that God is acknowledging the actual existence of other gods, doesn't it?

But, Christians allege that these are the fundamental building blocks of a moral life. Following the ten commandments isn't a suggestion, it's Christian law. Makes you wonder why more Christians aren't up on what the laws are then, doesn't it?

UPDATE: I just took the test, and got 90%. It's multiple choice, which helps. If you'd like to test your knowledge, click this link, and scroll to the bottom of the page: http://www.epicstoriesofthebible.com/challenge.php

[Excerpt]

Americans know Big Macs better than Ten Commandments

NEW YORK, (Reuters Life!) - How many of The Ten Commandments can you name? Put to the test, Americans recalled the seven ingredients of a McDonald's Big Mac hamburger and members of TV's "The Brady Bunch" more easily than the Bible's Ten Commandments.

A survey by Kelton Research found 80 percent of 1,000 respondents could name the burger's primary ingredient -- two all-beef patties -- but less than six in 10 knew the commandment "thou shalt not kill."

Read the rest at: Reuters.com

Or, if you like your news from the far right: WorldNetDaily.com

Blast from the Past: Classic Commercials #2

OK, time for some fun again. Children of the 70s (and more than a few adults) will probably get a chuckle or two and a wistful memory from all of the commercials in this batch of buried memories.

First up: A Pepsi commercial from the early 70s that introduced the concept of the "Pepsi Generation." Sing along! "We're the Pepsi people, feelin' free, feelin' free. . ."

Second: Rival cola maker Coca-cola made big waves (and sales) with this very early 70s commercial, featuring the Hillside Singers. "I'd like to buy the world a Coke. . ."

Third: Brilliant marketing strategy: get your buyers to sing the contents of your sandwich. This McDonald's commercial taught us, "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!" A later commercial challenged you to sing it backwards.

And last, the introduction of reconstituted, dehydrated potato-chip-like snack food, Pringles "Newfangled" Potato Chips. Check out the costumes, hair and sound effects. I do not remember the 70s this way!

The Power of Branding: Pavlov's Kids Pick McDonald's

Image from Wikipedia.com

This just made me say, "whoa!" when I heard it on Air America's Rachel Maddow Show this afternoon. Kid's actually think baby carrots taste better, if they come out of a McDonald's wrapper, than a generic one. Mmmmm. . .beefy carrots.

[Excerpt]

Old McDonald's Has A Hold On Kids' Taste Buds, Study Finds

Science Daily — Say what you will, Shakespeare, but a McNugget by any other name is just not as tasty. At least, not to the 3- to 5-year-old set.

Asked to sample two identical foods from the fast-food giant McDonald's, children preferred the taste of the version branded with the restaurant's familiar "Golden Arches" to one extracted from unmarked paper packaging, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

The study shows that even young children are swayed by brand preferences. The results are likely to fuel more debate over a growing movement to restrict marketing to kids under 8 years old.

"Kids don't just ask for food from McDonald's," said Thomas Robinson, MD, director of the Center for Healthy Weight at Packard Children's and associate professor of pediatrics and of medicine at the School of Medicine. "They actually believe that the chicken nugget they think is from McDonald's tastes better than an identical, unbranded nugget."

Continue reading at: ScienceDaily.com