Yesterday, I found myself in downtown San Francisco, near the Metreon, and I needed lunch and wanted a cheeseburger, so I stopped into the first place I saw called Split. It looked OK, kind of one step up from an In N Out. I asked if they had combos and they didn’t, so I just ordered the burger, fries, and a diet coke. They asked if I wanted them “Split fries” and I said how much was that and they said a dollar so I said sure.

The total? $19.73. I actually had to ask to make sure they had gotten the order right. They had.

Now, my goal here is not to throw Split - whoever they are - under the bus. There are lots of restaurants in downtown SF, and they are all overpriced. But holy cow.

Not to be Captain Obvious or flaunt my white privilege, but I feel like there are a lot of problems with a $20 hamburger. Here are a few that come to my mind (this is by no means all of them):

Some people can’t afford it at all. Let’s start with the most obvious one: many folks just won’t be able to afford it. Anybody who works a normal job and gets a normal salary is going to have a tough time living anywhere where the burgers cost $20, much less, say, the folks who work in the place where the burgers cost $20. And SF loses out on all those folks; their energy, their intelligence and artistry and viewpoint. All gone. Some refer to this as the “whitewashing” of the city, for obvious reasons, and the analogy is apt because it makes you think of coral reefs, turning white under the heat of the economy.

It leaves less money for other stuff. If you’re spending $20 on lunch - assuming you can afford it - you’re not going to buy extra clothes, souvenirs, furniture. You’re going to make do on what you have. You’ll save leftovers and eat them, you’ll live in a place that’s really too small. You won’t buy other things, and that hurts the economy.

It’s just kind of a bummer. Even for those who can afford it, it has a chilling effect on your enjoyment of the city. I bought the burger, for example, but I didn’t like it. Spiritually, morally and ethically it feels bankrupt, triggering feelings of privilege, guilt, and shame. Are you an idiot for spending that much on lunch? Are you perpetuating a broken system? Could the hamburger possibly be anywhere near that good? (Spoiler alert: it really wasn’t).

It’s really bad press. Imagine coming into town for a convention for work. Maybe you’re even on expense account, so it’s not your $20. You’re still going to notice, and go home and tell your friends how incredibly overpriced the city is. And you’re probably going to think twice before planning a vacation there.

I realize that nobody needs to eat out. You can go to a grocery store; I could have gone to one even for lunch. Of course, the grocery stores are just as hyperinflated.