One thing to keep in mind when comparing cost of living: minimum wage.
In the US, minimum waqe is about US$7.50. In Australia, it's about US$15. Your McValue meal is $1-2 cheaper in the US, but the minimum/low wage worker (the bulk of the workforce) has to work for less time to get that meal in Aus.
Until the e-commerce boom of the last 5-10 years, this disparity wasn't much of a problem, as economies were much more localised.
I'm not saying it's the complete answer (thankfully, I'm not an economist), but it's one of the most overlooked factors in all these analyses: the buying power of the poor.
If you think about those who work in the food industry in the US, they depend on tips to get back the rest of that money. Unlike the US, you aren't obliged to tip in Australia.
$7.50 is just the straight minimum wage, regardless of industry (varies from state to state). Hospitality workers in the US earn less than that (think I heard one say it was about $2.50).
In the US, minimum waqe is about US$7.50. In Australia, it's about US$15. Your McValue meal is $1-2 cheaper in the US, but the minimum/low wage worker (the bulk of the workforce) has to work for less time to get that meal in Aus.
Until the e-commerce boom of the last 5-10 years, this disparity wasn't much of a problem, as economies were much more localised.
I'm not saying it's the complete answer (thankfully, I'm not an economist), but it's one of the most overlooked factors in all these analyses: the buying power of the poor.