So, we're in the mall on Sunday night, after church, wondering what to eat. As usual, I was trying to spend very little money, so I started to try to figure out what's cheap. I was informed by Flor, that the Big Mac combo at McDonald's is cheap. She proceeded to tell me why:
The McDonald's Big Mac is one of the products that is used to measure global inflation. They compare the prices of Big Macs in every country in which they are available, which is almost every country. As I have mentioned before, inflation is ridiculously high in Argentina. So, the Argentine government takes care of the situation in the same way that it usually does, by providing a subsidy. So, the Big Mac is partially subsidized by the government to hide the Argentine inflation rate from the rest of the world. The Big Mac combo costs 21.90 pesos argentinos while other combos list between 35-45 pesos. Of course, the Big Mac isn't listed on the big signs, it's on a little one off to the side, or not even listed at all.
This would be the appointed time where I rip on the government for all the stuff it does, but I shan't. I just thought the whole situation was kind of fascinating. The problem, the solution, and how it related to me.
Just some interesting observations from a hungry, broke, international, college student.
PS I know that some of you may be disappointed, but I'm pretty sure that was the first Big Mac I'd ever eaten. What can I say? I'm just a Quarter Pounder kind of guy.
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