Are they though now that the cost of living has increased so much? It used to be $15/hr, now 20. Each time to stay in business companies are increasing prices. There are obviously people willing to pay those prices but will the service worker ever be able to keep up?
Hey trust me I am all for paying restaurant emps a living wage. I tip well and always have. I have worked in the industry. But you know these chains aren’t passing everything along to their staff. Private Equity firms owning these restaurants are the worst. They try to squeeze every last dollar out of a business.
That being said increased costs of eating out has hit my price point and changed my behavior. We all have different price points we are willing to pay for things. I won’t go to live sporting events due to costs and that was well before the pandemic. They hit my price point for what I am willing to pay. Other people are the same for movies.
And in terms of eating out I am more than happy to cook up something simple at the house for half the price and most of the time it is better than what I get at restaurants.
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My personal experience is similar. The two areas where I have noticed the largest price increase over last year are food and home insurance. However, the CPI shows other areas with largest gain over last year, as listed below.
My home insurance increase this year is likely a delayed effect. Last year, I switched home insurance providers to avoid being hit by a huge rate increase, getting a low online quote with different provider, that took advantage of a coding error. A VP of the company and I spoke about the coding error and how to fix it. He seemed friendly about it and agreed to honor the abnormally low quote. My home insurance is up for renewal next month and has a 25% increase, but still well under the rate I’d pay anywhere else.
CPI Change from July 2022 to July 2023
Motor Vehicle Repair: +20%
Motor Vehicle Insurance: +18%
Frozen Vegetables: +17%
Vending Machines: +14%
Instructional Lessons: +14%
Accounting Services: +14%
Non-laundry Apparel Services: +13%
Margarine: +11%
Pet Food: +11%
Veterinary: +11%
…
Restaurants: 6-7%
All Food: +5%
Areas with the largest decrease include:
Health Insurance: -29%
Gasoline: -20%
Airline Fares: -19%
Smartphones: -18%
Eggs: -14%
We just returned from Spain. Inflation does not seem to have hit them very hard. “Menu del dia” in a restaurant (entree, main course, dessert and a beverage, including wine) used to be 10 euros in 2013 and now is between 12 and 14. Really good quality food.
At night we would pay around 25 euro/pp for fresh seafood, quality meats and good wine in major cities such as Barcelona and San Sebastian. I envy the Spaniards for this - no need to cook at home.
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What’s that 20% - 40% ?
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The place we used to go in 2013 was 10 euros, now is 12. Some other places we saw were slightly more expensive at 14 (don’t know how expensive they were ten years ago). This is high quality food that would be served in a mid-priced restaurant here. Rabbit stew, fresh fish, octopus, pear poached in wine, creme caramel for dessert. Includes 1 alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage. Still jealous.
Lots of local elderly people eating lunch at these places. Obviously, they can afford this on a pension budget.
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Yep, Barcelona is one of the few places in Europe that I still enjoy. The prices have increased, but the quality remains.
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Isn’t that closer to 2% since the 2013 price of $10 was 10 years ago (compared to the 2023 price of $12)?
In 2022, Spain had a slightly higher inflation rate than high inflation rate in US on both food and overall. For example, in 2022 overall inflation for food is listed as 14% in Spain compared to 10% in US. However, prior to the recent post-COVID inflation, Spain had an even lower inflation rate than the low US inflation rate. Spain’s inflation rate was slightly negative (deflation) during 4 of the past 10 years. A 30% price increase is consistent with the numbers above.
Also relevant is 10 Euros = $13 in 2013, 13 Euros = $14 in 2023. While there was a 30% increase in price in Euros, there was only an 8% increase in USD.
While 14% food inflation in Spain may sound high, this is nothing compared to certain other countries in Europe. For example, I set up my Netflix to use Turkish Lira to take advantage of what was at the the time an 80% year over year inflation rate. Netflix charges didn’t follow Turkish Lira inflation well, even more so after USD conversion, so cost was a small fraction of the charge in USD.
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Inflationary increases in costs associated with diagnosing problems, parts and labor as well as used car prices, (and payouts due to natural disasters) are affecting car insurance rates in many states.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/05/auto-insurance-claims-disasters/
https://wapo.st/3P2Bqgp (gifted)
I have really started to notice inflation lately. Many items in the grocery store are now a dollar or more than they were in the last year. Gas prices (Washington State) are up there with California, due to a new carbon tax that was promised to increase costs just a few cents (total lie, and fuel increases affect everything). Property taxes and rents are up. Restaurants, expensive, yikes, and no guarantee it’s going to staff. We’ve definitely changed our habits on what we order and what we buy, I can’t imagine how those living near the edge are getting by. On debt? Food banks?
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We went to Spain in April. Just crazy inexpensive, I don’t know how they do it. Much cheaper than France, though France wasn’t too bad in comparison to the US.
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We thought restaurant prices in France were very reasonable compared to the U.S.
My biggest complaint is the cost of organic fat-free milk in cartons. Wow, has that jumped in price! Sometimes I can’t even find it in the stores. Plastic gallons are available, but I’m trying not to buy plastics.
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Remember that the salaries in countries like Spain are generally much lower than in the US.
Here’s a quick screen grab that I did comparing the two:
But your point is well taken.
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And a higher percentage live in poverty.
Another situation that will contribute to inflation…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/14/uaw-strike-update/
https://wapo.st/3rfjLdE (gifted)
The union’s 150,000 autoworkersare seeking a 36% pay increase over four years, shorter working hours and the restoration of benefits lost in negotiations in the 2008 Great Recession.
“In addition to a wage increase, the offer includes some cost-of-living adjustments to protect against inflation: up to five weeks of paid vacation, 17 paid holidays and health-care coverage with some of the lowest employee cost-sharing in the country”
$6.59 gas at Lee Vining (east entry to Yosemite) this week. ouch
It’s $6.50 in my SoCal suburban town.
$4.00 Chicago SW Burbs.
But two stations by me are having a price war at $3.57. Filling up every other day.
$3.46 at the Costco by me (NJ) today. And I don’t have to pump it, either 
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