What happened? Take me back

Assuming this was around 1994, and adjusting for inflation, it should still be under $2.
- Pic 2 also looks like uber eats, not instore
  
  https://www.tacobell.com/food/burritos/beefy-5-layer-burrito
  Looks like the actual price is $3.79
  
  I went through the drive thru last year and spent almost $20 on 3 beef chalupas. The cashier looked puzzled before she told me the total lol. The one thing I want from that place, I knew it would cost me.
  Not worth it afterwards, I decided.
  Goddamn I want a chalupa
  
  I found a picture of a taco bell menu from late 2023 showing the beefy 5-layer for $2.19.
  https://www.reddit.com/r/tacobell/comments/180gjxn/whats_your_favorite_menu_item/
- The beefy 5 layer burrito was introduced in 2009/10
  
  So, Ryan Gosling was 29 years old in the top picture. Damn is he a great actor.
- That's only taking into account monetary devaluation, not inflation of goods and services (or vice versa)
  
  What?
  Monetary devaluation is an economic policy Inflation is literally the "general increase in the prices of goods and services"
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devaluation
  
  Monetary devaluation is the only thing that gives any thin-veiled justificstion for price increases. Anything not covered by the inflation calculator is greed.
  
  You mean greed
- The whole supply chain increased their prices as well. Did you take that into account?
  
  The supply chain presumably cost something in the first pic too. The prices of those things should have also gone up according to inflation. So wouldn't they also be included in the "inflation adjusted" figure? It's not like they were calculating what it cost without needing a supply chain.
  In fact, I would think that if anything, the overall price of supply chains would have decreased as technology got better (better fuel, better gas mileage, better routes, better forms of transportation, better computer models to predict outcomes, etc).
  
  By scaling entire price? Yeah.
  
  A Ryan Gosling appearance today is enough to warrant $5 for 5 layers.

That price held untill atleast 2012, that's a solid 5 dollars of increase in just over 10 years. I could totally be talking out my ass
- Weird, 2012 was about when Brian Niccol took over as Chief Marketing Officer and then later became CEO of Taco Bell. Afterwards he moved to Chipotle and raised prices and lowered quality there too. Now he's in the news for becoming the new Starbucks CEO where he will be commuting via private jet 600 miles 3 days a week.
  So you'll be happy to know that your extra money on tacos, burritos, and coffee goes to good use like paying this asshole millions of dollars to fly around on a private jet enshittifying everything he touches
  
  This chaps my ass almost as much as the beefy 5 layer burrito
  
  And the cherry on top about that guy... he's a union buster.
  New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Has a History of Union-Busting. Niccol's tenure as Chipotle CEO was marred by settlements over unfair labor practices and child labor law violations
  https://www.commondreams.org/news/new-starbucks-ceo
  
  Capitalism fanboys will read these posts and think to themselves "boy I sure am glad we're not like the soviet union where a small cabal of elite deprived everyone else of a good life for their own benefit"
- Beefy5 layer burrito has that effect.
  Hopefully most of the price increase is tax related as a luxury food item and the money goes towards diabetes and obesity research. Right?
- Had to AI this one.
  The Beefy 5-Layer Burrito at Taco Bell was introduced as part of the company's "Why Pay More?" value menu in 2010, priced at 89 cents. Over time, like many fast-food items, the price of the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito increased due to inflation, rising food costs, and other economic factors.
  The exact timing of each price change can vary by location and market, but in general, the price increased gradually over the years. By the mid-2010s, the price had risen to over a dollar, and by the late 2010s and early 2020s, the price could be found in the range of $1.50 to $2.00 or more, depending on the region and promotions.
  
  Yes, trust AI, that's what Ryan Gosling looked like 14 years ago.
  
  Lmao, yeah... I doubt that was from 2010 😂
  
  Everyone shitting on you but your AI is right. It was about 9 months or so it lasted. I know because I took a course at the exact time and survived off those when I was broke as fuck. It doubled then like a year or two later had doubled again and that held until around Covid

Inflation, greed and enshittification.
- Stagflation

I don’t know what’s sadder the giant Safeway sandwiches going from $9.99 to $13.99 or my mortgage about to go up like 200 goddamn dollars…
- My mortgage has gone up like $300 in the last 14 years due to taxes & insurance... but if I were still a renter it'd have gone up by $1000 (or more?) so I'm not complaining.
  
  You should complain. We’re all getting ripped off.
- As a renter, I don't pity the mere $200 increase you're dealing with.
- escrow went up that much?
  
  Yes, your escrow can go up that much if your property tax, school tax, or in some cases insurance had a sudden jump in value or changes in what can be claimed. It varies by area and loan, but isn't unheard of.
- My car insurance has doubled in less than 8 years. But don't worry, it has less coverage too! Oh, but I'll get a teeny tiny discount if I let them install a lowjack!
  
  My car insurance went up like 20% from last year to this year. Exact same shitty "coverage" as before.
- The saddest part is the beefy 5 layer burrito being what people that worked at Taco Bell would order and ask for it grilled for a reasonable cheap meal to now resulting in “WTF is there any ground beef here? WTF is there real cheese? Are these ‘beans’ safe to consume?”
  Edit: my friend who previously worked there when in college asked if it was even beans on the thing…
- At least you're not just throwing away money like those of us who have seen rent double in 3 years.
  
  My retirement plan is a intentional heroine overdose.
- Yep mines about to go up $200 because my insurance is over $1,000 more this year.
- How do you have a mortgage change price? I don't get that? Both of mine haven't ever changed.
  
  Mortgage payments cover insurance and taxes in addition to the mortgage itself. Unless you have a variable rate mortgage the portion of the payment going to the loan doesn't change but the amount needed to cover taxes and insurance can.
  
  I think it's typical to get a 5 year contract and having to renegotiate a new mortgage at the end of said contract. At least, it is here in Canada. Rate goes up, monthly payment goes up.

Capitalist greed happened.

The $2 meal deal, kept me alive in college. Sounds like I couldn’t even get the tiny Doritos bag for $2 now.
- "fun" size now only 3.99

guys look a +500% price increase in less than one Gosling life time is totally normal capitalism
- you want to blame capitalism and only capitalism, not corrupt politicians, not their policies, not their agendas.
  Could you not say that the forces of capitalism have brought about the greed, justification, etc. that leads to corrupt politicians, policies, agendas?

Is that a delivery service’s marked up price? Their site has them for much less.
- Nanaimo BC, Canada.. price is in CAD. That converts to $3.32 USD
  I must say I am shocked that our prices are on par with or lower than anywhere in the US. I mean the conversion rate on the California price is insane in CAD:
- This is the TB closest to me in the Los Angeles area.
- I can get that as part of the build your own craving box for $6.
  Crunchwrap, this, potatoes, and a drink for $6.

What happened to the 7 layer ?
- Ran out of dodo eggs and ambrosia.
- People couldn't afford the extra 2 layers.
- They removed it from the menu in the last couple of years

At least it doesn't look like it shrunk too.
- Photos are for illustration purposes only
- It 100% shrunk. That image is misleading

Well, he's a big star now so that layer of his warm macho cheese is expensive.

I can get 2 for that around here.

4.19 at my local tb, too damn expensive.

Capitalism

Off topic but how does the guy at the top look 12 and 24 at the same time?
- It's two separate pictures, silly.
- The Gosling Effect

Man, I know US food is ...something else, but still, what the hell is this thing?
Apparently, the 5 layers are:
Beef
Cheese
Beans
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Sour Cream
A.k.a. 5 times protein for no fucking reason. That's going to taste like garbage, unless you make it entirely too greasy, too.
I guess, it being called "beefy", that's its whole gimmick, but that still doesn't explain why it exists in the first place. When you could be eating something with a multitude of flavors, which doesn't sit in your stomach like a brick either, why do you choose just a lump of meat?
- ...kinda but also wtf are you talking about? It's Taco Bell, of course it's going to be greasy as fuck and delicious.
  Not delicious in the way of fresher more authentic Mexican food. Delicious in the way of Taco Bell.
  .89-cents-at-midnight-delicious
- That might SOUND like 5x protein, but I am fairly confident there is a pretty minimal amount of protein at all. The beef and cheese sauce are almost entirely fat, cheese is low amount and high moisture, sour cream never had protein to begin with.
- Lol chill, it's already billed as trash food, nobody sold it as caviar. If someone wants to eat like a raccoon, for the most part, it's their God given right. No need to high horse it.
- lol
  .ml user
  
  lol
- Literally none of the ingredients are what you are picturing in your head. They’re not bad, just different.

If you put that garbage in your mouth, it's on you.
- Taco Bell is dope.
  I don't consider it Mexican food, and don't seek it out when I'm in the mood for Mexican food. Taco Bell is its own thing, and it's good.