[alt text: two images stacked vertically. The first image shows a young Ryan Gosling smiling next to an advertisement photo of a Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, which states the burrito is 89 cents. The second image shows an adult Ryan Gosling from the movie Drive, where his character is beat up with a bandage on his nose. Next to adult Ryan Gosling is a screenshot of the Taco Bell app, showing the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito selling for $5.36.]
I think it’s less that they have found an “excuse” to raise prices (companies always want more money, that’s what companies do), and more that they have acquired the leverage to do so. Fast food restaurants have accumulated brand recognition and customers that are psychologically attached to their products. People are less used to cooking their own food and have less time with which they might do it. We are poorer in relative wealth terms, companies are richer and more vertically integrated, we are in a worse negotiating position.