5) Political Lobbying: “If they were drowning to death, I would put a hose in their mouth” said the founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc, regarding his business rivals. McDonald’s is not above playing dirty to best its competition, spending over $2M annually on lobbying and political donations. In 1972, Ray Kroc funneled $250K (nearly $1.5M today) to Richard Nixon’s creep (Committee for the Re-Election of the President). On Kroc’s agenda was the passing of the so-called “McDonald’s Bill” that would have lowered the minimum wage for teenagers by 20%.Suspiciously, McDonald’s had just illegally raised the price of its Quarter Pounder in the middle of inflationary price controls. Following Kroc’s contribution, however, the Price Commission granted his price increase while blocking similar moves by competitors.
