Yesterday the Washington Post reported that Michelle Obama consumed 1700 calories at lunch at the new DC Shake Shack. According to the story, the First Lady had a Shackburger, fries, a chocolate shake, and in a self-deluding ploy most of us know all too well, a Diet Coke.
Some people were amused at the supposed hypocrisy of the obesity-fighting First Lady gorging on 1700 calories of fat and carbs. I see a more ominous significance to the episode: after the tech bubble, the real estate bubble, the private equity bubble, could we soon be facing a Burger Bubble?
I’m not talking about an imminent collapse of McDonalds, which is humming along now that it is serving our beloved national food to Australians, South Americans and Chinese. Read on…