With the economy in a slump, I would expect McDonalds to be reporting record profits. It seems like the place to go for a cheap, quick meal. Unfortunately, many local stores are losing money on their dollar menu, because of rising food costs. I actually visited one restaurant near my house that had removed the double cheeseburger from the dollar menu, and replaced it with a "double hamburger with cheese." Apparently, the "double hamburger with cheese" has only one slice of cheese, where the double cheeseburger had two. I guess that a few pennies matter to McDonalds as much as they do to us.

I think that McDonalds has found a new revenue stream, though, in an unlikely place - non-food sales. The Madame Alexander-created Wizard of Oz toys featured recently in Happy Meals have proven to be as popular with adults as with children. Not many adults want to eat a Happy Meal, though, or at least not the twelve that would be required to collect a full set of the Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz toys. So, some McDonalds locations are now selling the toys without a meal purchase requirement. My mother found them at her local restaurants from $.89 to $1.19 each. However, when I went out to buy some yesterday, they were selling for $2 each!

With a hamburger happy meal selling for $2.79, one of two things must be true. Either McDonalds is losing money on each Happy Meal that they sell, or they are making a nice profit on each doll that collectors like me purchase.

I guess that I really don't mind the price, even if they are making a profit. I'm buying something that I want, not something that I need. And if it helps them to keep two slices of cheese on my husband's double cheeseburgers, then I'm all for it.