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The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

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Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#41

Post by ZeroConcerns »

So, ehhm, yeah, I sort-of question the data in this article. A US$5.50 burrito in Downtown SF in 2014? Nah... even Taco Bell takeout was already more expensive than that at the time.

Also: sure, some places overdo it on the pricing: I distinctly remember walking out of a Rotterdam (somewhere in The Netherlands) establishment due to them charging 25 Euros for a lunch sandwich, like 2 decades ago, despite this not being a fancy place at all. No inflation in sight, just greed and/or an inability to read the target audience...

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#42

Post by mekdoonggi »

superkuh wrote: post #14

People in SF have more money (on average) and so those selling things there price higher. Compare the average salary for $jobdescription in SF vs Minneapolis. The entire (very small) region has been a bubble of higher income and prices for a long time and is getting worse. It feeds on itself like a ratchet.

I'm in the Minneapolis area, and $14 for a burrito seems completely normal. I might look at that price differently if my spacious, modern 2 bed apartment cost more than $2400.

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#43

Post by BeetleB »

radley wrote: post #17

> A burrito that cost $5.50 in 2014 is now $13.95. They haven't been that cheap since the 90s. 10 years ago, they were around $10.

They're looking at actual 2014 menus.

But yeah, it's likely an outlier in 2014 to be that cheap. More like $7-8.

Locally (not in SV), one can still find "cheap" burritos at Mexican joints. By cheap I mean $11-12.

In one local restaurant, they bumped up burritos from about $11 to $18 within a year. I stopped going there.

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#44

Post by BugsJustFindMe »

trentnix wrote: post #11
martinky24 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is a good thing!

Minimum wage goes up and buying power goes down as a result. This is the exact spiral that was predicted and dismissed as wrongthink. It has turned into another example of the Law of Salutary Contradiction: The Law of Salutary Contradiction states that when an event or policy is initially dismissed as impossible or a conspiracy theory, it is later acknowledged as occurring—but framed as beneficial and morally justifi…

The current expert consensus is that minimum wage increases do not meaningfully impact prices. If you want you can read more about it at https://www.reddit.com/r/Economics/wiki/faq_minwage/ which includes inline references.

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#46

Post by 01100011 »

sxp wrote: post #38

> And for San Franciscans, the price on the menu is rarely the price you pay. Add in sales tax, a default 18-20% tip on the tablet screen, an SF Mandate or Cost of Living Fee, and 8.625% sales tax. Soon that seemingly cheap $15 lunch might be $20. This is a key metric that the article doesn't properly account for when it comes to food prices. The asshole restaurateurs got an exception to the anti "drip-pricing" law t…

"But the restaurant industry is special."

Only in the restaurant world are customers on the hook for ensuring a living wage. It's a stupid system but is culturally entrenched.

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#47

Post by lelanthran »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #33
buildbot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love Seattle and it’s food but yeah it’s really expensive by default - I haven’t spent enough time in the Bay recently to compare but it feels equally pricy. There are still reasonable & very good places though you just have to know.

Seattle used to have good food at reasonable prices. The extreme increase in costs, much of which is self-inflicted, has killed any restaurant that didn't both dramatically increase prices and cut corners on quality. Almost all of my favorite restaurants in the city are no longer around. Seattle had much better food 15 years ago. The average food quality has noticeably deteriorated at the same time as prices skyrocke…

> Seattle used to have good food at reasonable prices. The extreme increase in costs, much of which is self-inflicted,

I'm curious about the self-inflicted part. How was it self-inflicted?

Re: The $14 Burrito: Why San Francisco Inflation Feels Higher Than 2.5%

#50

Post by 9x39 »

ZeroConcerns wrote: post #41

So, ehhm, yeah, I sort-of question the data in this article. A US$5.50 burrito in Downtown SF in 2014? Nah... even Taco Bell takeout was already more expensive than that at the time. Also: sure, some places overdo it on the pricing: I distinctly remember walking out of a Rotterdam (somewhere in The Netherlands) establishment due to them charging 25 Euros for a lunch sandwich, like 2 decades ago, despite this not bein…

They said they used Yelp photos, which seem like you can verify this.

Here's one from 2014, $5.50 https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taqueria-canc%C3%BAn-san-fra...

Here's one from 2015, $6.99 https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/taqueria-canc%C3%BAn-san-fra...

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