Of course McDonald's will prosper in a down economy.
Has anyone taken a family of 5 out to dinner lately at your typical Olive Garden/TGIFriday's/Outback price bracket restaurant? Just a few short years ago, such a meal was costing us about $40-50 including tip. Now it's $80. The Noodles/Chipotle/Panera price bracket restaurants are now in the $40 range.
People are being squeezed from every end, and the government is giving every signal that squeezing harder from that end is still fully on the table. Of course McDonald's will thrive. And where we used to pay $20 to eat there, it's now edging towards $30.
The rediscovery of eating at home is on the near horizon if we can't purge Leftists from government. After that, it may become an economic necessity, or even a survival tactic.