Corporations Raise Prices, Blame Everybody but Their Expensive Latte Habit
KEY POINTS
- •Utilities, coffee, and ground beef prices surged sharply in early 2026, notably with 18.3% coffee increases.
- •Stanley Black & Decker, McCormick, and Levi Strauss raised prices due to tariffs and rising costs.
- •McDonald's emphasized affordability after 40% price hikes, launching $5 meals and $8 nugget bundles to win back customers.
In 2026, inflation's the unwelcome party guest who brought 17.2% pricier ground beef and 18.3% surging coffee, making mornings feel like punching a wallet awake. Home electricity jacked up 6.3%, natural gas screamed 9.8%, while corporate giants Stanley Black & Decker, McCormick, Levi Strauss, and McDonald's — the latter fresh off 40% price hikes since 2019 — awkwardly hum 'value leadership' to lure back budget-battered customers with $5 meals and $8 nugget bundles. PepsiCo's CEO Ramon Laguarta admits affordability is a nightmare for low-income shoppers, and firms are so squeezed by tariffs, wages, and health costs they launched economic impact reports to play 'Look, we’re the good guys!' Meanwhile, Trump calls the affordability crisis a 'Democratic hoax' even as voters judge his policies by their empty wallets.
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McDonald's jacks up nuggets 40%, then pretends $5 deals fix inflation like a Band-Aid on a broken leg. Meanwhile, corporations say 'it's you, not us, sorry not sorry.'
When tariffs, rising wages, and health insurance walk into a bar, companies blame Biden economy instead of the tab they can't afford.
Watching McDonald's claim 'value leadership' after a 40% price hike is like a locksmith charging you for new locks you didn’t ask for.
Source: Axios | Published: 2/19/2026 | Author: Eleanor Hawkins
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