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Comment by rngname22 | Hacker News Reader

Total comp + benefits + social welfare for a fast food worker in Norway or Switzerland is far better than the equivalent for a fast food worker in Minnesota, the price rising in Minnesota to match Norway would not be commensurate as the Minnesota worker has far worse lifestyle economically.

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I wasn’t thinking of the fast-food workers but rather the clientele. With American salaries being as high as they are, and a lot of other things in life being priced relatively high, I would have expected the American fast-food industry to easily get away with raising prices up to $20/meal, at least in some US markets.

America is a lot better at logistics and has lower energy costs, too, though.

Lower-end fast food is also pretty price sensitive since most the people who buy it don’t have the high salaries you might be thinking of. In general, the people earning those would never eat at McDonald’s.

> America is a lot better at logistics and has lower energy costs, too, though.

Are you sure about that?

The immediate counter example that springs to mind is the suspicion that (say) India feeds a lot more people with a lot less energy consumption (per capita but likely also in total).

The commenter I was replying to was speaking of Switzerland, not India. I was referring to the cost of energy, not the total usage. You’re totally right that India uses less energy in general (in total usage per person, but not sure about per McDonald’s meal). And the energy is cheaper there.

For comparison here are the costs per kwh in USD for the three places I see with a quick Google:

    Switzerland: 33¢
    United States: 23¢
    India: 11¢

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