sueisallaboutquilts

I have a slightly different take on this. Junk food that is now in smaller portions is better for you, not that I don't agree about getting ripped off. But we are way too fat in this country. Junk food and portion size are two very good reasons for it. But I will stop b/c I don't want to get into the health reasons....... :D Can anyone tell I'm a nurse?? :D

roseOfsharon

The packaging size and keeping the price the same or a bit more is a way of deceiving the public. Make more on less is the issue here. We the consumer are duped. Sure portions are an issue in our diet today, but don't try to slip it by us with keeping the price the same and give less, like we won't notice!

wildyard

All of your points are so valid, and I couldn't agree more. One thing that gets me is that no one seems to understand that one of the biggest feeds into rising prices is the ongoing demands for raising the minimum wage laws. Why don't people realize that every time the minimum wage is raised, the cost of living goes up even more? Sure the minimum wage worker is taking home a little more money, but they are now having to pay out more than that to buy necessities, as are the rest of us, who didn't get a raise at all. Do people really think that raise is going to come out of the employer's pockets or the investors' profits? Of course it's not! They are simply going to pass that increased cost on to we the consumers. And no matter who the first line consumer is of any product, sooner or later, it filters down to you and I. And we are the ones paying the higher prices for smaller amounts, lower quality, etc. Oh, my, yes.. this does get my GRRRRR up!!

cjomomma

Amen to that

twistedsheets

You maayalso find this interesting,. I live in California now since 1989. In 1994 I changed carrees and started driving Semi long haul. West coast to east coast. Did this 14 years, till mom fell ill . I am fenale now 51yrs.old. My longtime mate still drives. We hauled produce from here and Nogales to out east I am from Chicago, by the way. Even after all the freight charges put on those loads that produce and fruit is still cheaper to buy out there then in the state of California where it was grown. When my mom passes on I am moving back to the midwest. Boyfriend finally realized how expensive his state of birth is here.

Lisanne

Me, too. What kills me is they're doing the same thing with Dial soap. It's indented now - kind of narrow in the middle and normal-sized on the ends. And to make it worse, they've started packaging it in boxes, so you can't tell until you take it out of the box. So either the cardboard packaging costs them less than the soap or it costs the same or more, but we have to buy soap more frequently now that there's less of it in each bar.

True, but did your mother work 40 hours a week? Most people nowadays do, so there isn't much time or energy for baking and preserving. Back then, people had houses with enough land to have a garden. One income was enough to pay for that house, a vehicle or two, healthcare, clothes, furniture, etc, etc.

Granted, back then people weren't paying $200 - $300/month for cell phones, cable TV and Internet access.

zz-pd

yes it dose, I can not remember the last time I had Ice cream. as we can only get the necessities due to no money. Penny

Lisanne

True, but people who work just as hard as you do, or even harder, deserve to be paid enough to live on. And the minimum wage has never even approached that point. Meanwhile, those at the top earn undeserved millions every year.

If you don't allow people a living wage, then we all only have to subsidize them for the things they can't afford, such as housing (public housing projects), healthcare, food (food stamps), childcare, etc. This happens through public benefit programs, through tax credits, through charity drives.

And you do get lower quality, because only the most inexperienced and desperate of people will take those jobs. And once they can, they leave for something better, so you lose any experience and skills they develop. But give them a living wage for their work, and they will stay and you'll get the quality that comes when they develop expertise at their jobs.

You're not wrong. When overhead, whether it's the cost of supplies or rent or wages, goes up, businesses almost always pass the cost on right to the customers. Or they lay people off or cut corners on quality or quantity.

IMO there just has to be a better solution than not paying people enough to live on. Part of that is making those at the top accountable for their bonuses and perks. Part of that is realizing that not every publicly-owned company (stock market companies) should always grow in value. There's this idea that corporations have a lifecycle, and once they stop growing, they die. There is just no reason they can't reach their "right size" and sustain that - except that then the stockholders sell their stock and the company's paper value goes down. Oh my, such a shame.

Sorry, I've gone into a rambling rant here. Stopping now.

zz-pd

I am sorry, but people who are working need to get paid a livable wadge. At one point in my life I was getting paid minimum wage at $2.45 an hour, I had a baby to raise and I worked my tail off as a cirtified nurseis aid. needless to say I did not eat half the time so I could feed my child and pay the bills. Penny

Minda

I agree that everyone should be able to earn a wage that they can live on; I just don't think that raising minimum wage gives anyone a liveable wage. As Wildyard previously said, when minimum wage is raised so is the cost of living (food, rent, clothing, etc.) It's hard to believe that there isn't a viable solution. No American should be going hungry.