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Biggie deal: What a fast-food price war says about America's inflation fight
优惠套餐：快餐价格战说明了美国对抗通胀的情况
In the cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants", Mr Krabs, purveyor of krabby patty hamburgers, is a frequent and ruthless price-gouger. He can get away with it because he has no competition, save for the unappetising Chum Bucket.
在动画片《海绵宝宝》中，蟹老板是卖蟹堡王汉堡的商人，他经常无情地哄抬物价。他可以侥幸逃脱惩罚，因为除了毫无吸引力的"海之霸"餐厅之外，他没有竞争对手。
McDonald's, a chain that flips real-world hamburgers, can only dream of Mr Krabs's pricing power. It has been forced into a fast-food price war.
麦当劳是一家做真正汉堡的连锁店，想拥有蟹老板那样的定价权对它来说只能在梦里实现。麦当劳被迫进入了一场快餐价格战。
Since June 25th Americans hungry for a deal have been able to get a sandwich, fries, chicken nuggets and soft drink under the golden arches for just $5. Burger King, a rival fast-food chain, is matching the offer with a $5 meal deal of its own.
自6月25日起，想吃套餐的美国人在麦当劳只用花5美元就可以买到一个三明治、一份薯条、一份鸡块和一杯软饮。其竞争对手 ---- 快餐连锁店汉堡王----也推出了5美元套餐来与麦当劳的套餐抗衡。
The two are following in the footsteps of Wendy's, which is temporarily adding an ice cream to its long-standing Biggie Bag combo. Starbucks, seemingly determined to protect its reputation for high mark-ups, is pricing a sandwich and a coffee at $6.
这两家餐厅正在追随温迪汉堡的脚步，温迪汉堡暂时在其一直都有的"大袋子"套餐中增加了一份冰淇淋。星巴克似乎决心要保持其高档餐厅的声誉，正在将一个三明治加一杯咖啡定价为6美元。
McDonald's calls this the "summer of value"; economists call it deflation. However labelled, the development is heartening for consumers--and for Federal Reserve officials, who would like to reduce interest rates before the year is out.
麦当劳把这个套餐称为"超值之夏"，经济学家则称其为通货紧缩。不论是什么名称，这种事态发展对消费者来说都是令人振奋的，对美联储官员来说也是如此，他们希望在年底前降低利率。
The food fight is a return to normality in an industry defined by high volumes and low margins.
这场快餐大战是快餐行业回归常态的表现，这个行业的特点就是薄利多销。
To make a buck, fast-food chains need to attract vast numbers of value-conscious, typically low-income diners. McDonald's, fearing that Burger King and Wendy's were eating its lunch, introduced a Dollar Menu in 2002.
为了赚钱，快餐连锁店需要吸引大量注重性价比的食客，这些食客通常收入较低。麦当劳担心汉堡王和温迪汉堡抢走它的市场份额，于是在2002年推出了一美元菜单。
Yet in recent years, rising incomes and surging inflation have given fast-food joints a reason to supersize prices.
然而近年来，收入的增加和通货膨胀的加剧给了快餐店提高价格的理由。
The cost of a McDonald's meal has risen by 40% since 2019, compared with a 19% rise in consumer prices more broadly. This boosted the firm's operating profits until March, when they came in below expectations.
吃一顿麦当劳要花的钱自2019年以来上涨了40%，而更大范围的消费价格才上涨了19%。这推动了该公司的营业利润增长，直到3月份，当时的利润低于预期。
McDonald's put the disappointing results down to consumers becoming "more discriminating with every dollar".
麦当劳将令人失望的结果归咎于消费者变得"对花出去的每一美元都更挑剔"。
American households spend almost all of what they earn and have made their way through savings built up during the covid-19 pandemic.
美国家庭几乎花光了他们的所有收入，并且已经耗尽了他们在新冠疫情期间积累的储蓄。
In the face of slowing disposable-income growth and a robust-but-cooling jobs market, consumers are pulling back and plan to dine out less often. Takeaway meals have been in part responsible for keeping inflation above the Fed's 2% target, with prices growing by 4% in the year to June, compared with 1% for groceries.
面对可支配收入增长放缓和就业市场强劲但降温的情况，消费者正在退缩，并计划减少外出就餐的频率。外卖餐食在一定程度上导致了通货膨胀率高于美联储2%的目标，截至6月的一年中，外卖餐食价格上涨了4%，而日用品价格上涨了1%。
But that may be about to change. Although McDonald's plans for its value offer to last about a month, the economics of the fast-food industry have shifted. Lower prices appear to be on the menu for good.
但这种情况可能即将改变。虽然麦当劳计划让其超值优惠套餐持续约一个月，但是快餐业的经济状况已经发生了变化。更低的价格似乎将永远留在菜单上。
