Asklemmy

Inflation in the West is correlated to de-dollarization happening worldwide

For paying people more in some markets and adjusting the prices to be about the same everywhere. So the way a business works is, they have certain profits they have to make to appease the shareholders, and this has to improve year after year. It doesn't always, but to do so is the goal. So when things like regulation and etc. raise their costs, they raise their prices so their profit still increases.

Honestly, Taco Bell used to be cheap. Now it's not. It hasn't been cheap for a long time. But yes, all fast food places have gotten crazy expensive.

Sit-down restaurants have gone up, too. But not as much. So if you want a burger, a sit-down place might not be cheaper, but it might be a better value.

Fast food has kind of always been a scam though. You're paying for the convenience. So in the west market, Hardee's (which is called Carl's Jr. out there) marketed a burger about 20-25 years ago called the "Six Dollar Burger." They argued that their burger was the equivalent of what you'd pay six dollars for at a sit-down restaurant. What they assumed their customers were too stupid to understand was, that "six dollar burger" at a sit-down restaurant came with fries and cheese and was still bigger. By adding fries, the $4 burger got real close to that $6 price. The combo was more. So they were banking on people not being smart. Naturally, it worked. (Hardee's just called it the Thickburger. They've since discontinued the whole line. Hardee's and Carl's Jr. no longer make thick burgers anymore. They've honestly been trash ever since. And most burgers in fast food start at six bucks now.