There are few things my brain gets bogged down thinking about more than the price of the things that my family needs.Every time I pass my local gas station, I eyeball the price of gas. I use it as a sort of bellweather to indicate the general outlook of my personal budget. You see, probably like most of you, I don't have the option of wandering into my boss' office and dictating an increase in salary.
"Hi Glen, what's up."
"Yeah, hi there, Boss. Yeah, um, it looks like I'm going to have to charge you another $82 this week. Yeah... Greece's national debt figures were released today and I'm just not feeling confident about how it may effect the export figures for France. So, I'm going to have to, you know, have you pay me another $82 this week. Oh, yeah, and $98 next week. Yeah, that'd be great."
Seriously, why is it that everyone but you and I can randomly dictate their prices and we're forced to pay it? If there is an explosion of an oil well, prices go up. If there is a rumor of war in the Middle East, prices go up, if consumption goes up, prices go up, if consumption goes down... prices go up.
Why can't I hang a little sign outside my door with my ever-changing rate? Whenever the wind changes direction, I'll just stick a number card onto the sign with a new price.
Watermellons are right now selling for $9 each. Nine dollars. Not pesos, dollars. Each. A piece of fruit costing nine dollars? When I think about $9, I think about an hours worth of work at a low paying job. Should a watermellon cost me an hour of my time? I don't think so.
So when do we get to say, "That's quite enough already"?
Instead, all I hear from people is, "Well, what are going to do?"
I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll go without. I'll make my own. I'll grow it, build it, find it, or create whatever the "it" in question is before I'll let some scheister make off with my time. (Time=Money.)
Which leads me to my next post.
4 comments:
Good idea. I am, at this moment, growing my own watermelon plants out back. :)
Fluctuating weekly?! If my wages changed according to gas prices, I would have a different salary according to rush hour!
I agree with you 100% - how is it possible that when someone in the Middle East farts into the wind it causes some catastrophic price change this side of the world? And they continue to ride their camels and live in tents.....
I find it appalling when I intend on heading to the grocery store to purchase merely a handful of items, only to have a heart attack at the checkout when I'm asked to hand over $70. $70? For non-branded, every day items like bread and cheese?! Thank goodness I am not a connoisseur of any kind, or I would have to claim bankruptcy just to get my groceries!
It really bothers me -- a lot. Why is day to day living so much harder today than when in, say, the 1950s?
Why is it that suddenly local governments can't afford to do the basic things that they've been doing for the last 30, 40, 50years?
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