When even McDonald’s customers are tapped out, that signals the consumer engine is failing. This is what the end of a credit cycle looks like.
‘The peasants who eat at our restaurants are struggling to afford breakfast.’ pic.twitter.com/k5DEMa95ZQ
— hammy (@hammyXBT_) September 7, 2025
McDonald’s is criticizing the restaurant industry for allowing tipped wages, which let managers pay servers less than the minimum wage as long as customer tips make up the difference.
McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday that he supports President Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate federal taxes on tips. But since McDonald’s workers don’t earn tips, the policy doesn’t help them.
Kempczinski also noted that in many states, sit-down restaurants are allowed to pay servers as little as $2.13 per hour, a federal minimum set in 1991, with tips making up the rest of their pay.