most people are not from the 5 percent elite amd for this reason they eat fast convenient food . argentina is nearlly double for supermarlket prices than the usa and Even more so for cheap taleaway asían mexican food comes to mind 3 tacos in buenos aires are 12 dollars in most dplaces a simple chiinese
meal 20 dollars minimum . in the usa You can eat cheaply in chinatowns of all makor cities for 10 dollars and with portions easily doble the
paltry portions of argentina .
you are simply wrong. I have just been in NYC, in chinatown, for example. Most asian restaurants there are in the 20 to 30 dollar per person range. There a handful of take-out greasy spoons, with limited hours, that serve cheap meals, but they are not common, or patronized by most people- in Chinatown, they are maybe 5% of the place. they attract young people late at night who eat cheap greasy dumplings or noodles scooped from big trays, in between clubs. They do sometimes have a plastic table on the sidewalk, but they are not "restaurants". Many are more like peso libre than a restaurant in Argentina.
And, even then, the five dollar single portion and the bok choi and a drink hits fifteen. The vast majority of restaurants in NYC, thousands of them, are more than in Argentina. The few cheap places you speak of are either in the lower east side, or waay out in Flushing, which can be between a half hour and an hour for most people by subway. And they are still not ten dollar meals. they are 8 or 10 dollar entrees, with out sides or drinks.
Also, you are overlooking that, unlike the IVA which is included in Argentina, tax and tip are always on top of the price.
Old fashioned greasy hash browns, scrambled eggs and white toast, in a corner diner with much less ambiance than a bar viejo in BA, are easilly fifteen bucks everywhere, PLUS tax and tip- or, 20 dollars a person. and prettty much everybody tips 20%.
The 5 percent elite is spending $200 for sushi, more for steaks and fancy meals, 25$ for cocktails, a hundred for a bottle of wine.
The 90% of regular people dont get by for less than $15 or $20 for a quick meal.
Sandwiches are pretty much all $12 to $20. Some, of course, are more. Bagels with lox- 20 bucks.
I walked around a lot of NYC, I checked out prices. The prices you mention just dont exist. a pancho from a cart is five dollars, a can of soda is 2 to 4 dollars. A super pancho is eight dollars. And they are not a "Meal".
Everywhere I went in NYC, everything was more than in Argentina, including most groceries. NYC is huge, most people dont have the time or inclination to travel an hour each way to get cheaper food, and they buy where they live.
Clothes are crazy. $20 t shirts at cheap places, $50 or more at probably 75% of the stores.
I saw $250 blue jeans in feria americanas, $600 used wool shirts. sure, there are some ten dollar t shirts, paper thin chinese imports. But everything most people buy, except for iphones or electronics, are lots more expensive than BA.
used records in record stores are often $30 to $75 dollars. each. for a used vinyl record. This is in the rough, funky neigborhoods like loisada, or parts of williamsburg.
Uptown, everything is much much more. Rents, utilities, museum entrances, hamburgers, a cup of coffee, a can of beer, clothing, bus and subway rides, books, hardware stores, art supplies, grocery stores, pharmacies. Its all more than you pay in BA, except for. a selection of chinese stuff. Most of which, aside from iphones, is so crappy its not worth buying.
And its getting worse monthly, Trump is trashing the economy, and prices are going up all over. Both Walmart and Amazon, not the haunts of the rich, have snuck in 3% to 7% increases on a lot of stuff in the last month or two, and it will go up more soon.
I am guessing you have not been to the USA in quite a while.