Shrinkage

I have always found it interesting how the government calculates inflation.  They simply remove the items that are going up in price from the formula.  It is more than a political ploy.  Government entitlement increases are based on the rate of inflation giving Uncle Sam a vested interest in officially declaring there is no inflation.  So much for my Social Security increase!!! 

It also doesn’t take into account the inflation you can’t see….shrinkage.  Have you Golden Oreo lovers noticed there is something askew about those nifty new sticky top packages?  The number of Oreos per pack has shrunk.  Shrinkage!!  How about the full size Reese’s Cups in those big orange packages.   Today’s full size Reese’s Cup is now the size of a Junior Mint.  If they shrink anymore, you will be buying the wrapper. Shrinkage.  

The same goes with a Hershey Bar.  The jumbo size now is equal to the regular size years ago.  But they give you a deal if you buy three jumbos at a time.  Like the health police want you to eat three Hershey Bars at a time!   Shrinkage.
                                                                                                        
Manufacturers and retailers know that people are rising price adverse.  So they trick you.  That 16 oz. package becomes a 12 oz. package which is now a 10 oz. package.  Five pounds of flour is now four pounds of flour just as three pounds of sugar is now two pounds of sugar.  Coffee canisters are fancier and smaller than ever, masking the decrease of in the actual coffee content for which you are buying it in the first place.  Shrinkage.

Produce and meat is a bit trickier.  A 12 oz. steak is a 12 oz. steak.  But if you watch either QVC or HSN you can see the frozen meat packs they offer from companies like Kansas City Steak Company are never described in the total weight of meat.  It’s put in terms of how many pieces of meat you are buying.  20 steaks!!!  Ya….but they are only 4 ounces which means you have to eat two for a normal type serving (To the resident food police…no….a 4 oz. steak is not normal serving!!!). And if that’s a 4 oz. steak they are showing on television, my waste has shrunk to 36 inches.  It also means you have to do the math while watching television.  Good luck with that!!!  Shrinkage!!!

 Which brings me back to my Social Security check.  I think I got a 1/10th of 1% increase this year….because there is no inflation.  So much for my purchasing power in an era of $3.75/gallon gas.  Some guys might be worried about one kind of shrinkage.  Phooey on that.  Quit shrinking my check!!!  And get me one of those jumbo Hershey Bars.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Strouss-Hirshberg; Things That Aren't There Anymore

Image
Youngstown was at the heart of the American industrial revolution in the mid 1800’s. During World War I, more steel came from Youngstown than anywhere else in the world. It’s no wonder, then, that the area was home of some of the best of everything, including department stores. Strouss-Hirshberg and McKelvey’s were the Macy’s and Gimbels of northeast Ohio, and offered to local residents the best of what money could buy. Strouss will always hold a special place in the heart of this area. It is hard to believe that there are twenty somethings today that haven't heard of it, or go “huh?” when you mention it. I tried doing some research on its history. Believe it or not, it is hard to find. As near as I could figure, the Strouss Hirshberg Company was originally known as D. Theobald and Company. Isaac Strouss clerked there, and eventually bought the store in 1875 with his new partner Bernard Hirshberg. The store was incorporated in 1906. The Readers Digest version of the life of the ...
Read more

Hope vs. Aspiration

Image
Don't forget to visit http://www.markknowsitall.com/ Hope: to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true. Aspiration : a desire or ambition to achieve something. As the 2008 presidential campaign heats up, Barack Obama is in full gear selling his vision for the future of America. He is for “hope” and “change.” …and oh yes, peace. He is also for “peace.” Aren’t we all? Obama, the oratorical wunderkind with the speech cadence of Martin Luther King, is doing a fine job of telling us what we should hope for, and how he is going to give it to us. He is a riveting individual and a spell binding speech giver. Hope is a good thing, right? Obama believes Americans are “hope” deficient. Americans “hope” for universal (read “government run”) health care, even though 85% of Americans have coverage, and 25% of those who do not aren't American citizens, and an additional 14% of those who don’t can afford it but simply choose not buy it, and a portion of the re...
Read more

Donald Sutherland's Pants

An adult coming of age movie entitled Garden State made the rounds last summer. A friend of mine told me it was worth watching, so I bought the DVD. If you are a fan of movies filled with generational angst, which I am, this movie fills the bill. But if you are easily offended by casual sex, drug use, spoiled brats, and generally slovenly behavior, stick with Casablanca . Let's face it. A movie in which one of the protagonists is a grave digger who steals the jewelry off dead bodies prior to their being put in the ground is not exactly The Brady Bunch . Included in the movie soundtrack is a song called In The Waiting Line . It is a "head" song. Translated: play it while getting stoned. The lyrics ask the musical question: "Do you believe in what you see?" And that, my friends, is the topic of this week's essay. Animal House is the quintessential college frat house slob movie. It was fairly raunchy when it was released in 1978. By today's standards, i...
Read more