I don't know if I'm in the right forum so move this if it isn't, thanks. Anyway I just found an old bar of soap and it still had its wrapper and price on it. This is a known brand and its still being sold today and I'm still buying it. Well it seems that prices of this item have gone up since 2003, that's how old this bar is that I found because it was only 25 cents per bar back then and now it's 90 cents but the thing that really pissed me off was the WEIGHT of this product. It use to be 9.50 ounces but today its only 4 ounces but the size of the box that it is in is the exact same size as the old one was. So they reduced the amounts and raised the prices but prices haven't gone up that much I'm assured by the administration but the amounts have gone considerably down. This is very frustrating to me because I'm always told that things aren't inflating by those "economists" but they seem to not want to take everything into consideration when evaluating exactly what is going on overall with any products.:shrug: When I try to Google prices through the years of this product I'm not given any information about any old pricing or weights. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
As one who works in a retail grocery store that has a personal products aisle, I have been very observant of the trend of which you speak. Several times in the last 6 years, products have changed size and price, the theory being that customers are less likely to notice a decrease in size that an increase in price. Coffee used to be sold in one pound bags; now most are 300 grams. Dogfood used to come in 20 kg bags, which then were reduced to 16 kg and now the latest size is 13.7 kg. yet in appearance, they still look to be virtually the same, though the weight is now over 30% less. Ice cream was formerly in 2.0L containers, then 1.89L and now 1.66L, while refrigerated juice came in 2L, then 1.84L and now 1.75L. The same thing has been happening to many products on the grocery shelves as well as personal care products and household cleaning products. Now I am seeing the prices beginning to creep up in response to poor crops of cereal grains. Expect to pay more for all products made with flour as the winter comes on. Several years ago, rice almost doubled in price and while it has recovered slightly, it remains far above what it cost back then and rice is another staple food around the globe. It is only going to get harder to make ends meet as far as I have been able to determine. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I just dislike it when they don't change the size of the packaging so you never know the real difference unless you remember or check or , like I did, have an old box lying around from the past. Yes, things are inflating but this administration insures us all that its not and refuses to give out increases to those people that need social security for 3 years now. :shrug:
The administration may be guilty of perhaps just comparing the price of a food basket of standard items, without taking into consideration that the size of these items has changed. From that perspective, the increase in price is not so apparent. In case you think that surely these people wouldn't be fooled by such obviousness, remember that every civic/public employee is also a customer and it's not like retail corporations and manufacturers are advertising their strategy. They advertise that their product has some new flavor, texture or other attribute, and yes they even advertise the new packaging, carefully without drawing attention to it's size. Sometimes you even get more pieces per package, lol, though they be each smaller, but it's the quantity that the customer notices more than the portion size. (Toilet paper and paper towels should be carefully scrutinized, not for the number of double or single rolls, but for the actual number and size of each sheet when determining value per dollar.) Marketplace, a program on CBC TV that exposes various ploys, recently did a piece on the downsizing of product and Canadians are starting to wise up. Our labels also note the cost per 100g on each product so that customers can easily compare the value they are getting, even on soap products etc. (I used to carry a calculator to use where pricing was very close. No need to now.) My mother is a senior and I know several people on fixed incomes of various origin, and it is these people who are going to be the hardest hit by increasing prices. Sadly, our seniors pensions have not been overly generous nor have they kept up with inflation. For those who were stay-at-home parents with no work pension to augment their seniors pension, times are very lean indeed. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
But did you know that most governmental bodies in the Federal system have been given raises during the past 3 years? They also have received more perks as well. While they gain the seniors lose. It seems to me the Federal organizations are gaining way to much as the rest of the country suffers with less and less. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I don't think you'll find any economists saying that there hasn't been significant inflation between 2003 and now. There was plenty of inflation between 2003 and 2008 - it's the time since then that has seen low inflation (due to the recession).
You know you are a brilliant person . See that is so true . What would one expect when the prime rate is so low for a long period of time > Does the prime rate affect inflation . That is a good question don't you think . The rate money is lent out at . What if there long term loans ? What effect does that have on markets ? Could we expect the opposite of rent control and its effects on markets ? I don't know what you do to keep your self out of trouble but something tells me you are wasting your talents ? Maybe not . You post for the world to see so I take it back . So maybe some idiot in-charge may read your writing and decide to do something about it . That would make the trigger happy person . The instigator. Food is inflating though . Creep is what I call it . I don't know the ramifications of the price of milk and, or its manipulation in the market place *( controlled substance ) It has gone up 25% in my neck of the woods . that has all happened from 2009 to now and the biggest part happened 6 months ago . I buy a lot of fucking milk . I am always going to the store getting milk . Me wife . She drinks it like no one I have ever witnessed. So point being the price of milk is driven like wedge in my brain . Lots of goods have deflated . If no one buys the shit then what can you expect . Throw it on the ground . Some of that has been happening too .
Yes. We have municipal, provincial, First Nations and Federal levels of government in Canada also and monies that are being paid to those public sector jobs is considerably above what most of the private sector can afford to pay, not to get into the paid leave, travel, incidentals and other perks. I have had several opportunities to get such a job and suck on the public teat but it's not my first choice for reason that I prefer to think I am doing something that satisfies myself. My present mission of helping to secure the food supply for the Yukon and surrounds with the flexibility of working a different schedule than the hectic 9-5 of most people actually gives me a sense of accomplishment. There is routine as well as plenty of ongoing change, so never boring. I'm not overly impressed with much of the way public funds are spent and so I would not feel good to be associated with that institution. Not to say that there are not a lot of very good people trying their best to make a difference but the machinery is too entrenched and too unwieldy, IMO. It will just eat you up and spit you out, with a fat pension to be sure, but everyone I know who has gone into the public sector has 'changed', and I liked them better before, lol.... The champion of the underdog, perhaps, but I feel somewhat freer of spirit than many, and you can't put a price on that. I work hard, pay my taxes, try not to break any 'rules' and allow the world to flow around me when I can. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
There are several products that are regulated in Canada also, and I believe they include bread, milk and eggs. When you see those prices starting to creep upwards, you know they are the harbinger of more bad news to follow. :bugeye:
