Shrinking food dollar

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OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
you know, they have these guys called "Butchers"; I hear they will sell you meat by the pound.

It's also $16/4 pounds @ Costco.

no shit? Costco bacon is a prime example of paper thin sin. you cant peel off a slice without it stretching to a foot long or tearing.

this is the only place i buy bacon. They make it on site and use real applewood, not that liquid smoke bullshit shortcut.

http://www.hudsonlockers.com/
 

Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
19,915
2
76
ostif.org
I've switched to malt-o-meal cereal and only buying name brand when it's on sale. Sam's Club and Costco are more reasonable for cereal and juice if you have the cabinet space to buy bulk.

Cereal and OJ are the two places that hit me the hardest.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
no shit? Costco bacon is a prime example of paper thin sin. you cant peel off a slice without it stretching to a foot long or tearing.

this is the only place i buy bacon. They make it on site and use real applewood, not that liquid smoke bullshit shortcut.

http://www.hudsonlockers.com/

Maybe, but it's 4 dollars a pound, not 6.

They have a premium bacon that's sold in 2-2 pound packages that are considerably thicker than the standard (Hormel, et al) bacon.

I'm curious how this is:



If you have a TJ's near you this is my current favorite bacon for the price.

 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
106
I think it is going both ways. Higher prices and smaller portions.

I remember I used to joke that you can't get out of Wal-Mart without spending at least $100. Now we are lucky to walk out without spending $200.

Per week. Family of 3.

$200 a week at walmart for 3 people?!
 

Joepublic2

Golden Member
Jan 22, 2005
1,097
6
76

CountZero

Golden Member
Jul 10, 2001
1,796
36
86
Yeah, that damn profit.

How much money do you make again? Do you realize that your income is 100% profit? You damn workers and your profit.

My income isn't 100% profit. Just to get to work required a car and gas. I am paying off the degree required to get this job. I have to buy and maintain work clothes. Basically some percentage of my income goes towards maintaining my income. My margins are sky high but it isn't 100% profit. Anyone that has ever considered cost of living vs salary of job offers in two locations knows income isn't 100% profit.

It isn't profit that's the problem anyways, it is the expectation of constant growth in profits. If I sell 1M widgets at 10% margin this year and do the same next year in a private company I make money. Do it in a public company and you are a failure.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,985
8,222
126
It isn't profit that's the problem anyways, it is the expectation of constant growth in profits. If I sell 1M widgets at 10% margin this year and do the same next year in a private company I make money. Do it in a public company and you are a failure.

^^^ Capitalism has been perverted over time, and the current model is unsustainable. In the meantime, everyone but the elite few get screwed. That's why I prefer buying from private companies. It's closer to true capitalism.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,674
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Actually, you are watching the value of the dollar fall. The value of the food more or less is remaining constant.

If the value of the dollar falls, that means in terms of equivalency the value of the food is going up.

Inflation, debasing, it's all the same. Long and the short of it is the value of the food is THE SAME. The companies are still giving you LESS of it, and charging you MORE for it, while their costs of providing it have GONE DOWN.

Yeah, that damn profit.

How much money do you make again? Do you realize that your income is 100% profit? You damn workers and your profit.

Yes. I profit from my work. Pure profit, because I sell a commodity (my time, skills, expertise, ability, whatever physical resources I bring to my job) and they cost me absolutely nothing, right? If it were pure profit, I could sit on my ass at home on my couch all day long without lifting a finger, and they'd just deposit my paycheck every week.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,461
996
126


Let's not forget things like this:



YAY! Let's pay more for AIR!!!

Both of those are new products. Reeses Miniture Peanut Butter Cups(the ones with foil wrappers) are still the same size(but in smaller packages). Those are Reeses Minis(without wrappers). And those kisses are obvious a different product as the regular kisses. Regular kisses are still the same size, but packages are smaller.
 
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Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
Both of those are new products. Reeses Miniture Peanut Butter Cups(the ones with foil wrappers) are still the same size(but in smaller packages).

really? Cuz they sure as fuck didn't feel the same.
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
17
81
The manufacturers are simply sending a message to the consumers. You're all fatasses, stop eating so god damn much. If you have no self control, then the food providers will do it for you.
 

marvdmartian

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2002
5,434
20
81
Coffee has been doing this forever. Used to be the big cans were ~39 ounces, now they're ~34, for the cheap coffee.

If you buy what's known as "gourmet", or higher quality coffee, those cans used to be ~34 ounces, and are now <28 ounces in size.

Not to mention, remember back in the "Juan Valdez" days, when Folgers bragged about their coffee being mountain grown in Columbia? Good luck finding regular (non-gourmet) coffee anymore that's made with Columbian beans. It's all Arabica beans now, which are cheaper to produce, I'm sure.
 

BladeVenom

Lifer
Jun 2, 2005
13,365
16
0
This has been going on for years now. Ice Cream use to be 2 quarts, now it is 1.5. I've even seen 1.25 quarts.

The worst is can size has also been reduced, which is an annoyance for old recipes that based things on 16 ounce cans when they are now 12 or 14 ounce cans.
 

SheHateMe

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2012
7,251
20
81
For just myself, I can get 2.5 weeks of groceries at Walmart for $100 even. Another $75 gets me enough booze to keep in the pantry for party time.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
Our dollar sucks thanks to inflation. This is nothing new and has happened in the past. Stupid idiots in washington (and stupid people for voting for them) are partly to blame.
 

chalmers

Platinum Member
Mar 14, 2008
2,565
0
76
My biggest complaints are the candy bars. Snickers and Reese cups are so much smaller than they used to be. King size snicker is now two fun size bars in a large wrapper.

Oh and don't get me started on "fun size"..what's so fun about a tiny candy bar?

Yeah, I'm fat.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
19
81
I'm fine with higher prices. That's the way it's supposed to be. Things cost more to make, and you pass it on to the consumer. Don't try to bullshit me by reducing the quantity, and changing the package to conceal the deceit.
"New and improved! Easy-storage packaging!"



Yeah, that damn profit.

How much money do you make again? Do you realize that your income is 100% profit? You damn workers and your profit.
"This year, we've set a new record for profitability."

Later...
"We've got to tighten our belts and pull through here. I'm afraid there won't be any profit sharing."

Alternate:
"Profit sharing? Why would anyone do that?"



Yeah, that damn profit.

How much money do you make again? Do you realize that your income is 100% profit? You damn workers and your profit.
"This year, we've set a new record for profitability. You've all helped get us to that point."

Later...
"We've got to tighten our belts and pull through here. While there won't be any layoffs, I'm afraid there won't be any money available for profit sharing."

Alternate:
"Profit sharing? Why would anyone do that?"


* - Though I will say, where I work, we did just finish a record year, and there was some darn nice profit sharing given out.



My biggest complaints are the candy bars. Snickers and Reese cups are so much smaller than they used to be. King size snicker is now two fun size bars in a large wrapper.

Oh and don't get me started on "fun size"..what's so fun about a tiny candy bar?

Yeah, I'm fat.
I remember when "SE" videocards were "Special Edition" - meaning they had double the RAM, or were clocked 15% faster than the standard edition, or had some other desirable features.

At some point, they became the "light edition," which was usually missing features, but they retained the "SE" moniker.

Though you've got to admit, it takes decent or ballsy marketing department to be able to successfully push a reduction in product quality as an improvement.

"Now with 33% more REAL animal feces! Get on the path to a healthier colon!"



Our dollar sucks thanks to inflation. This is nothing new and has happened in the past. Stupid idiots in washington (and stupid people for voting for them) are partly to blame.
>90% of incumbents win reelection, and a decent chunk of them are quite well-off. Not much reason for any of them to give a damn about anything but doing what they can to stay in office. As we've seen in many industries, such as food or jewelry, good marketing campaigns are quite effective at doing things like eliminating public concern for trite matters of factual information.

So hey, want an awesome pension, lobbyists throwing money in your face, paid healthcare, good job security, and a short work year where your time is largely spent raising money so you can tell people about how hard you're working? Abandon any sense of self-respect or independent thought, and run for Congress.
 
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Sho'Nuff

Diamond Member
Jul 12, 2007
6,211
121
106
Yeah, that damn profit.

How much money do you make again? Do you realize that your income is 100% profit? You damn workers and your profit.

Income is not profit. There are costs associated with working just like there are costs to produce a product. The number one cost of working is the value of the time spent at work.
 

T9D

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2001
5,320
6
0
This really started happening huge in 2006 or 2007. The underlining economy was already starting to fall apart. The food companies were making cuts and cutting back on food to make it appear that their bottom line was still fine. Even though they had less sales they kept profits up by skimping the portions. It was just an illusion. Then everything crashed in 2008 and they couldn't hide it anymore or take anything more out. About every company was doing this kind of accounting. I saw this trend in food and other companies falling apart at the foundation long before the public knew and the public crash came. I kept telling people a crash was here and going to get worse, and they thought I was nuts.

Now it's getting worse with our dollar and the bad economy still dragging on. With Gas and food getting really expensive it's getting a little worrisome. When's it going to end? the quality of life is slowly going in the crapper (well has been for decades).
 
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