If you are average, you spend nearly $900 per year on eating out. Granted, Paul Ryan and his hedge fund friends might skew the numbers when they sip $700 bottles of wine, but that can be offset by the family my wife saw eating Vienna Sausages at the Dollar Store the other day. One of the kids was begging for a $1.00 toy, and Mrs. Woof overheard the Mom explain to the boy that they only had 20 bucks for food for the next 2 weeks. Mrs. Woof bought him a candy bar, which made him very happy.
Anyway, what I'm getting at is... where do we spend our $900?
Did you know that last year, the restaurant industry spent $9.3 million on lobbying, about $3 million of which came from the National Restaurant Association, which also contributed almost $800,000 to political candidates. For example, the association donated $10,500 to John Boehner between 2009-2010.
Looking at the fast food chains, some seem to balance donations between Ds and Rs. For example, McDonald's gave $251,900 to Dems and $281,500 to Republicans.
Most don't...
Pizza Hut Franchisees Assn $12,000 (D) $157,500 (R)
Wendy's/Arby's Group $29,000 (D) $152,000 (R)
Assn of KFC Franchisees $30,500 (D) $138,000 (R)
TACO PAC $42,000 (D) $455,250 (R)
By now you should see why Michelle Obama catches so much flak about her nutrition program. You should also see that your dinning dollars flow directly to the Republican Party if you eat at these processed food restaurants.
The other day, I had family in town, and we loaded up two cars and set out for some vittles. I was riding point and looking for a non-global eatery. We drove for 45 minutes before I came upon a place set back off the main drag nestled in a grove of large live oaks. It was the kind of place that probably did not belong to the National Restaurant Association or the Chamber of Commerce. The sign said "Daddy's the Place For Ribs and Thai Food." Sounded kinda weird, so I pulled a bat turn and slid into the dirt driveway. Inside was clean and real homey, so we grabbed a table for 8 and had a magnificent meal of BBQ and Pad Something or Others. The portions were large and the tab was small at under $75.00. I paid it gladly (with a nice tip for the excellent service), knowing that there was a very strong possibility that not a cent of it went to Republican Party.
If you are in the Florida Panhandle, check out Daddy's.
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Daddy's, but I'll be going back. If you are not in the area, find a Mom & Pop restaurant near you. You'll be taking food out of the mouths of the Republican party.