Sandwiches as Economic Indicators in Political Debate

NPR has an article entitled The 2014 Club Sandwich Index. From the article:

Because it is a recurring motif on the menus of fancy country clubs and haute hotels, the club sandwich is also a key economic indicator these days. To wit, Hotels.com has developed the Club Sandwich Index to determine the relative expensiveness of cities around the world. 

The 2014 results — of the third annual survey — have just been released. For the CSI average price, researchers tallied the prices of club sandwiches at hotels in 28 different countries. The most expensive club sandwiches in the world are served in Geneva, where the average cost is about $33. In New York, the cost for a club is close to $18. 

"The Club Sandwich Index offers travelers a simple price comparison to show how far their money may stretch in each country," Kate Hopcraft of Hotels.com said in a statement. "The next time you're tucking into a club in Geneva, remember you could have three more for your money in New Delhi."

This reminded me of an incident last month where Congress caught a little flack after several members used Big Macs and charts with pictures of burgers purported to be Big Macs to illustrate inflation during a debate.

But this was not the first instance of a Congressional debate over food. The NPR club sandwich article links to this historical highlight from the Archives of the House of Representatives where members of Congress debated over the contents of club sandwiches in the House Restaurant:

Representative Charles Underhill of Massachusetts strode to the well of the House with two sandwiches. In support of the House Restaurant’s funding request, put forth by Underhill’s Committee on Accounts, he compared the House club favorably with one from a local cafeteria. Newspapers reported his rousing defense – “Look at the size of this piece of chicken and compare it with this piece of chicken in our own restaurant, and with this larger piece of chicken, and large piece of toast, more mayonnaise, tomato and lettuce, we get only 5 cents more for our sandwich.”

We will have to wait and see if Congress switches to the club sandwich index in light of NPR's report.