You Can’t Afford McNuggets Anymore—and That’s Just the Start of the McRecession Collapse

Even McDonald’s Isn’t Safe Anymore You know the storm's real when even McDonald's starts losing foot traffic. We're not talking about boutique cafes or overpriced salad joints. We're talking about the cornerstones of America's low-cost calorie machine—McDonald's, Starbucks, Domino’s—once seen as recession-proof. But now, even these titans are showing cracks, with the working and middle classes pulling back hard on fast food spending. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, visits from low-income consumers to U.S. fast food joints dropped by “nearly double digits,” according to McDonald’s CEO Christopher Kempczinski. Middle-income traffic didn't fare much better. A Nation of Shrinking Wallets This isn’t just a diet shift—it’s a seismic warning. The backdrop? A potent mix of job insecurity, inflation fatigue,…