I’m a grocery stocker and I’ve noticed a lot of products getting smaller while the price stays the same or goes up. I always rotate the old product forward so the new stuff is in the back.
That is what is happening, doc. Rather than raise prices, the manufacturers are making the item smaller, as a bar of soap, or putting less in the box.
My folks are farmers. I can remember when eggs were 8 CENTS per dozen - and people figured the world was going to heck in a hand basket when the price of eggs went up to TEN CENTS per dozen.
Over the years, we have watched the price of a box of cereal (like Wheaties) - or a loaf of bread - go up and up and up and up some more - yet the price which the farmer receives for the wheat which it takes to make the box of Wheaties (or the loaf of bread) has remained about the same. The same it true of most grocery items.
Actually the BOX that the Wheaties goes into is probably getting larger - it just has fewer Wheaties in it than it used to have.
The farmers receive approximately the same amount of money for a bushel of wheat which they received back in 1970 - but the price of a box of cereal and the price of a loaf a bread has grown by leaps and bounds.
I think it would be interesting to learn just exactly what it is that is making the price of groceries go up - because it definitely is NOT the price of the farm produce which goes into those products!
That WOULD be fascinating Deborah. Another show of lack of governmental balances on corporations. And for the person how wants to scream “free market”, think about the economy NOW with the free market.
margueritem almost 16 years ago
Someone must be twisting Burl’s arm so that he’ll take three…
margueritem almost 16 years ago
doctortoon says:
I’m a grocery stocker and I’ve noticed a lot of products getting smaller while the price stays the same or goes up. I always rotate the old product forward so the new stuff is in the back.
That is what is happening, doc. Rather than raise prices, the manufacturers are making the item smaller, as a bar of soap, or putting less in the box.
DebJ4 almost 16 years ago
My folks are farmers. I can remember when eggs were 8 CENTS per dozen - and people figured the world was going to heck in a hand basket when the price of eggs went up to TEN CENTS per dozen.
Over the years, we have watched the price of a box of cereal (like Wheaties) - or a loaf of bread - go up and up and up and up some more - yet the price which the farmer receives for the wheat which it takes to make the box of Wheaties (or the loaf of bread) has remained about the same. The same it true of most grocery items.
Actually the BOX that the Wheaties goes into is probably getting larger - it just has fewer Wheaties in it than it used to have.
The farmers receive approximately the same amount of money for a bushel of wheat which they received back in 1970 - but the price of a box of cereal and the price of a loaf a bread has grown by leaps and bounds.
I think it would be interesting to learn just exactly what it is that is making the price of groceries go up - because it definitely is NOT the price of the farm produce which goes into those products!
Geekologist almost 16 years ago
That WOULD be fascinating Deborah. Another show of lack of governmental balances on corporations. And for the person how wants to scream “free market”, think about the economy NOW with the free market.