Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, increased operating costs sure upset us...

Ok, so there's no such thing as a FREE lunch...

But soon, there will be no dollar lunch either! Seems McDonald's is facing tough economic times and will drop the regular cheeseburger from its $1.00 menu offerings.

Launched in 2003, the Dollar Menu has been a key driver of sales at McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants and has helped it ride out dips in consumer spending. But recently, franchisees have complained that the menu has brought too much unprofitable traffic into their restaurants.

Unprofitable traffic? That would be me and my friends on any given Friday. They always get the cheeseburger, I sometimes get a plain hamburger (should they not be able to offer cheese on the dollar burger any longer, my 'naked lunch' may still remain...) or if the toy looks intriguing, a Happy Meal.

Hey, here's an idea - install energy-efficient light bulbs in that stupid arch. Or sell off a few more of Grimace's arms!