While browsing the shelves at the University Place Albertson’s this evening, I had to wonder, who decides that the quantity and cost of each item is “the correct amount”? Certainly there are the comparable amounts of products, like 80 ounces of laundry detergent powder. If Tide has 80, Cheer has to have an 80 ounce package to compete with them. They might even add 15% more and then they can make a big deal about that in their advertising.

But then there are items that come in all different quantities. You’ll find a package of sandwich creme cookies, three rows, more than a family can reasonably eat in a week,  2 packages for $4. Yet, a much smaller package of Double stuff Oreos, that two hungry kids could finish off in a weekend, will cost you just as much, if not more. The sandwich creme cookies taste just as good as the Oreos, you get more of them and they will last longer. The thing is — you see ads for Oreos on TV all the time. But you never see an ad for the gigantic, three-row package of sandwich creme cookies. You are paying for the Oreo advertising.

A gallon of milk is much more expensive than a gallon of gasoline. That’s because the Dairy farmers have their own political action committee, the National Dairy Council. The NDA acts as a funding source or sponsor of funded research regarding dairy products and then they promote the results of this “research”. You hear them quoted all the time. Who ends up paying for this research? You do, by the gallon. Currently, the average gallon of milk sells for $3.28, while a gallon of unleaded gasoline is now about $1.85 in Tacoma. I thought the Arabs had a pretty powerful group called OPEC. Looks like the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could learn a few lessons from the National Dairy Counsel.

Back in the day, when farmers brought their produce to market, you dealt directly with the farmer and you might have been able to haggle the price a bit, but you usually got a fair deal. These days, between you and the product producer, you have committees, corporations, Madison Avenue ad agencies, the government, shippers and Joe Albertson, or his next of kin, all with their hands out. You pay each of them for your Oreos and milk.

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