We make no health claims for the new $5 deal at McDonald’s: A McDouble cheeseburger or a McChicken sandwich, four chicken nuggets, french fries and a small soda. We’d say that if you are having a cheeseburger and fries, the addition of fried McNuggets are, well, a tad, as the kids say. Which is not to say we have not partaken of the opportunity. We certainly have, nuggets and all.
But, hosanna, the market reasserted itself without any government mandates or interventions. Customers stopped buying expensive menu items, and McDonald’s reacted. They’re not the only chains to do so. There are comparable deals at competing restaurant chains like Taco Bell, Burger King and even Starbucks, which now is offering a tall iced or hot coffee paired with a fair-to-middling butter croissant for that same 5 greenbacks.