Jul 9, 2002 | Q
How can I have considered myself a good New Yorker without knowing anything about the Pizza-Subway Connection? Apparently, common wisdom has it that the price of a subway token in NYC is tightly linked to the price of a slice of pizza, and since pizza prices have risen over the past few years, there’s talk of the inevitable subway fare hike that’ll come after this fall’s elections. How funny!
I don’t think it’s unusual for that link to exist in any metropolis - both items are basic things that follow the cost of living.
As wages and inflation increase, the cost of basic items such as subway tokens must also increase. The subway and pizza places must both pay people and buy materials.
This, by the way, is the reason that minimum wage increases are only a short-term pallative. If the pizza place could still pay people $4.75 per hour, the pizza would be cheaper. The minimum wage in Oregon, where I live, is $6.50 per hour, and as a result, basic commodities tend to be more expensive here, because labor costs more and the lowest-income segment of society can afford the price increases because they’re making more.
• Posted by: SpecialK on Jul 11, 2002, 12:00 PM