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The year was 1943. The Second World War was raging in the Pacific and Europe and the Zoot Suit Riots were pitting soldiers against Latinos in Los Angeles. The atom bomb was still on the drawing board and it was 5 years before the first McDonald's opened. You could grab a hamburger from a good restaurant for 40 cents and get som e curly fries for another 20. A Coke? That'll cost you another dime, mister. For a little more than a dollar you could substitute a steak for the hamburger and exchange the coke for a milkshake concocted with real milk and real ice cream.
I dug up all this information on a recent visit to Twohey's restaurant, an icon in the Los Angeles area. As I sat down to eat lunch with my family, a picture of their original menu beckoned and prices weren't the only thing that caught my attention. I'd like to share 7 lessons I learned from that 66 year old menu.
1) Inflation:
Naturally, the first thing that stood out was the prices. If you could still order off the old menu, there wouldn't be a hungry person in America today and if you're still challenged by the concept of inflation, one look at the menu will clarify your mind. The cool thing about the menu is that 66 years later they were still selling some of the same items. You can see the current menu on the web. The average price of the 10 items I matched was $0.47 in 1943 compared to $6.10 today. That's a stunning 1,302% inflation or 4.05% per year. For example, back in 1943 you could treat three of your buddies to steak sandwiches, fries and a large coke and pick up a $4.00 tab. Today, that act of generosity would cost you over $54. Other wallet busters included hot fudge sundaes for 35 cents and a stack of pancakes for 30 cents. A Root beer float or freshly squeezed lemonade would set you back another 20 cents.
2) Meals vs. Sandwich Only
Back then, you didn't have to pay for the fries if all you wanted was a sandwich. Today they are included in the meal and there is no option to "just get the sandwich." We often wonder why we have obesity in America and part of the problem is that everything comes as a meal today. In most restaurants, it costs you the same if you don't want high carbohydrate and fatty fries. Back then you would have saved approximately 20% by not ordering the fries.
3) Sales Taxes
In California the sales tax was 3 percent. That's a far cry from the current 9.75% rate in Los Angeles County. This is not a misprint; in nominal dollars, the sales taxes on that burger went up a stunning 5,464% and somehow the local and state governments managed to have balanced budgets. For those of you history buffs, West Virginia was the first state to enact a sales tax in 1921 and California didn't have a sales tax until 1935. I would have paid 12 cents in taxes for treating my three buddies to a steak meal. Today, the state charges me $5.40 for the privelage. I guess that's why I have fewer friends.
4) No Fish!
Nowhere on the menu was there a single item containing fish which is interesting considering that the Pacific Ocean was a short drive away. Americans didn't eat much fish in the 1940s, less than half of what we eat today. Back in the 40s, you could hop on a surfboard in Malibu, reach in the water and grab a lobster dinner. Today, you need to strap yourself in diving gear and hit some far away spots.
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