You may think this is funny, but Burger King is actually burger-washing a very serious issue.
Not only is fast food convenient, it is essential to the most vulnerable in our society. Burger King provides food fast and cheaply. Simply stated, working class people cannot afford not to eat fast food [1].
In many locations, Burger King is the only fast food restaurant in the area [2]. In many of those same locations, public transit is inadequate for the purposes of going to a competing fast food restaurant. Establishing a fast food restaurant that can compete with Burger King requires so much work and capital that doing so is impossible for someone already working two jobs. For all intents and purposes, Burger King has a monopoly on an essential service.
Here's where it gets scary. Burger King preferentially serves proprietary, branded food items, and beverages from Coca-Cola, for which they've made an exclusive, behind-closed-doors deal... for money [3]. Have you ever noticed that it's impossible to get a McDonald's Burger or a Pepsi at a Burger King? With customers being shut out from these discussions, it's not surprising that the products they serve are unhealthy.
The common sense solution to all of this is to classify fast food joints as public utilities, and then demand that they serve food without regard to its origin. Fast food is far more important than high speed internet. And while the repeal of net neutrality regulations lead to the death of the internet... the lack of food neutrality will lead to death.
The problem with this analogy is that the government don't give out the only available land to Burger King restaurants for free while at the same time make it practically impossible for any other restaurants to get access to land and compete. Government created monopolies on food access are indeed a major issue in nations which has had that (east Germany, war time rationing) and it would be more important than high speed internet.
Thankfully this doesn't happen with Burger King. Burger joints are common simply because the ease of starting one up and access to customers. No requirement to go and dig cables on government land, no last mile issues, just make a safe building and edible food and off you go.
In many places, the government's barriers to entry are worse for a fast food restaurant [1] than for, e.g., creating a WISP. So, I don't think your argument breaks the analogy.
Not to nit too much, but working class people certainly can afford to not eat fast food. In fact, it's cheaper and faster to cook simple meals. I believe you might have meant "working poor" instead.
You say this sarcastically, but I would seriously 100% support the government creating public cafeterias / "Automats" with prepared food served cheaply and without profit, to help increase the availability of nutrition for both poor and working class people.
A "public food utility" in the US is actually a really great idea that should happen, similar to how public drinking water utilities in the US exist.
Not only is fast food convenient, it is essential to the most vulnerable in our society. Burger King provides food fast and cheaply. Simply stated, working class people cannot afford not to eat fast food [1].
In many locations, Burger King is the only fast food restaurant in the area [2]. In many of those same locations, public transit is inadequate for the purposes of going to a competing fast food restaurant. Establishing a fast food restaurant that can compete with Burger King requires so much work and capital that doing so is impossible for someone already working two jobs. For all intents and purposes, Burger King has a monopoly on an essential service.
Here's where it gets scary. Burger King preferentially serves proprietary, branded food items, and beverages from Coca-Cola, for which they've made an exclusive, behind-closed-doors deal... for money [3]. Have you ever noticed that it's impossible to get a McDonald's Burger or a Pepsi at a Burger King? With customers being shut out from these discussions, it's not surprising that the products they serve are unhealthy.
The common sense solution to all of this is to classify fast food joints as public utilities, and then demand that they serve food without regard to its origin. Fast food is far more important than high speed internet. And while the repeal of net neutrality regulations lead to the death of the internet... the lack of food neutrality will lead to death.
/s
[1] http://frac.org/obesity-health/low-income-food-insecure-peop...
[2] http://www.fastfoodmaps.com/
[3] http://www.businessinsider.com/restaurants-that-serve-coke-v...