And the #crazy# part is: just a few years ago, $50 or $60 could get a family of four a pretty decent meal at a sit-down restaurant. But now, because inflation has gone up so much while salaries haven’t kept up—and for some people, salaries have effectively gone #down—things# that used to be affordable are no longer affordable. #McDonald’s# becoming a “#luxury”# is already a sign of how much has changed. The same thing is happening with eating out in general. Back then, a working-class family could go out to eat maybe once a month. Now even that can feel like a luxury. Places like Applebee’s or Cheesecake Factory used to be treated as “cheap” or even a joke—people would say #things# like, “If your boyfriend takes you to Applebee’s, dump him.” But today, that attitude doesn’t even make sense anymore, because Cheesecake Factory is expensive too. Eating out has become a middle-class luxury, not something normal.