First, I’m not an economist. I’m not a CFO, government expert, or someone with extremely in depth knowledge of finance, inflation, or recessions. I am, however, a shopper, and what I’ve seen in recent months is disconcerting:

• pasta – used to be packaged as a pound (16 ounces); now 13.5 ounces
• orange juice – used to be packaged as 64 ounces; now 60 ounces

The same number of people are out of work – most are even making the same (or less) than they were ten years ago (relative to today’s dollar) and for those that are able to travel the dollar is so devalued that it takes $1.45 to buy even a single Euro.

• canned corn – used to be 16 ounces; now often less than 14 ounces
• sugar – used to be 5 pounds to the package; now 4 pounds in each package

In most cases – take corn for example – the size of the can really isn’t any smaller. It’s just more loosely packed with corn and the heavy water has increased the weight. The pasta is often only recognizable when the bowl gets around to the fifth person at your table and there’s not enough left for a full serving. Things are just plain getting smaller.

My mother in law cans fruits in the fall and with the change in each bag of sugar she’s basically paying 20% more for each cup of sugar – and who would notice 20% in the change from 5 pounds to 4? Not her and until now not me. I do, however, notice the 20% increase. (Funny thing, he Social Security didn’t go up at the same time.)

Sure, these are big examples, but I don’t think anyone can argue that a $100 trip to the grocery or a $300 trip to the local big box store is now the norm. Costco used to be relatively cheap – and they still are – but even their sizes have changed to match rising food costs. It’s just, like stores everywhere, rather than change the price (raise it), they’ve decreased the quantity or quality to make it appear as though things really aren’t changing all that much. I beg to differ.

Many companies are painting a fake silver lining for you, committing to “less packaging” to protect the environment or perhaps a convenient “portable” version of foods to allow you to snack on the go while you work to earn enough to buy the foods that used to be staples. Others are eliminating the “20% more than before” that they used to include on their super-sized packaging. Which, of course, will be the next big thing – as companies realize that the economy is coming back or perhaps prices for materials are dropping the manufacturers will resort to once again “super sizing” or offering 20% more than they did before. The result leaving you back where you were ten years ago.

ranter

Soda Kills - Or At Least Increases the Odds

I’m trying to decide if I’d rather die of stroke (quickly so I don’t see it coming), or get laughed at while working my way to heart failure (slow and possibly quite painful). Honestly, neither is looking good and the way things are going the choice of water alone might be the saving grace of the American people.

What am I ranting about today, you wonder? Well, a recent study has found that consumers of diet cola are at a 61% increased risk for stroke, including (whether drinking diet or regular soda), more likely to have metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, elevated blood fats, low levels of good cholesterol, and large waists. Ergo, soda drinkers are more likely to be fat, diabetic, and suffering from cardiovascular disease, regardless of whether they’re drinking diet or regular soda.

What.the.hell?

I know that the Tab generation is almost dead, heck, even my mom has stopped drinking that crap, but it seems like all the fun of just living and enjoying the fruits of our commercialized success are now going by the wayside and we’re either going to have to accept that life alone can kill us or eat like a rabbit and drink filtered water with added electrolytes. Just does not seem like much fun.

Before I go much further, I think it’s important to note that I personally believe that in addition to our health the world is changing in a way that has forever changed our lives and that the days of an increased life-span is gone. Everything that we interact with today – whether it be directly like food and the environment, or indirectly like radiation and environmental hazards – has an impact on us and it’s generally not good. This comes from absolutely no medical knowledge, but from the knowledge that the quality of life that I see from the people around me in this day and age seems far below what it was even ten years ago.

Now, with that said, science is inaccurate and this could all be a fluke. The study was less than 3000 people total, and there could be some sort of accidental correlation, but this really comes down to how you feel about science vs. the science of the Coca Cola Company. Personally, I would think that even though all the chemicals that they put into the diet soda they pedal tastes really good it’s probably not that good for me.

So there you have it – my public health message/rant to share that I’m pissed – no more diet-soda for me, or soda at all for that matter, although I wonder if I get it out of the spigot, is iced-tea any better for me?

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With that in mind, I wanted to open this up to others who may want to contribute their own rants and share some of how they feel about the world. If this is you, please drop me a line via comment or email and lets talk about your contributions.

~ranter

Maybe it’s more simple than that – maybe the American people need a comedic relief from all the pain and suffering that they’ve been going through in recent months. Speculation of a double-dip recession, concerns about the environment, concerns about BP dumping millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and even concerns about mainstream, oft-trusted companies like Johnson & Johnson poisoning their children. Maybe America does need a break; because it just doesn’t seem like Lindsay Lohan going to jail for 90 days should be this big of a deal.

More of my two cents.

Ranter

“This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children’s’ love of toys” to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes.”

As the parent of children that rarely eat at fast food restaurants, this seems like something that will make my life easier. While I can control where my children eat and whether or not they eat at McDonald’s, the issue has to do with where they want to eat, and frankly that’s at the place that’s giving them the toy. Truth be told, my kids don’t even like McDonald’s, but they love getting toys – and there are no healthy alternatives – at any location – that include a toy with a salad and vegetables for kids (for the record, the pickle is not a vegetable).

Unfortunately, this ban impacts only a small number of vendors in a relatively small area, meaning that most parents are still going to have to deal with the pain that comes with seeing your small child eat a meal that offers no redeeming value short of the calories that are included. Most areas – and most parents – are still going to have to (for now) deal with fast food vendors rewarding children for eating deep friend and unhealthy food.

“This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes,” Yeager said. “Under this ordinance, restaurants are still permitted to give out toys. This ordinance merely imposes very specific, common-sense nutrition standards for children’s meals that are linked to these incentives.”

The ordinance will ban restaurants from giving away toys with meals that have more than 485 calories, more than 600 milligrams of sodium, more than 35 percent of total calories from fat or more than 10 percent of calories from added sugar. It would also limit toy giveaways on single food items with more than 200 calories or more than 480 milligrams of sodium.

This is obviously an overly aggressive move – but in the interest of protecting our children it seems necessary. As a parent, this protection feels as though something that has been long overdue, if only by the adage that it takes a community to raise a child. Our vendors – fast food vendors included – need to think about our children as theirs and protect their interests.

Interestingly enough, one of the opponents of this, a McDonald’s franchisee with multiple locations, went on record that he had recently been recognized (by McDonald’s Corporation) for his efforts supporting sports teams and community groups. As though this offers some sort of balance between the excesses of the food his restaurants serve. Really, I applaud his willingness to give back, but this simply seems as putting the interests of a few before the many.

Obviously, these are my opinions. My rant, as a parent, but I am appreciate that someone is starting to look out for the parents to help them raise their children in a healthy and otherwise rewarding manner.

Ranter

P.S. As an aside I was really hoping to bring some nutritional guidelines to this article, but received the following error when trying to access nutrition facts on the McDonalds.com site.

Is it really something that should be in the hands of the government how quickly the average American destroys their body?  Does this simply mean that organizations like McDonald’s won’t be putting salt on their fries after pulling them out of the deep fryer, but instead will serve up little bottles of salt for each of us to do it on our own?  Can the government, short of rationing salt, really control how much sodium is in the food that the average American consumes each day?  Doubtful at best; why invest the time, money, and energy to even try.  Wouldn’t this investment be better served by educating people on the benefits of healthy eating?  Ehh… probably not that, either.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not supporting the death of America by salt overdose, but as someone that is thankful for those nearly invisible crystals of joy, I’m not asking the government to regulate how my food is prepared, either.  I don’t want to die early, but I don’t want to suffer with bland tasting food along the way.  Would love to know how you feel about the same thing, but for today that’s my rant!

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Can Palin Prove She's Smart? (Photo: AP)

Sorry its been so long since any posts have been added, but fortunately the idiot is back and this one was too good to pass up, so here we go again. That’s right, Sarah Palin, who has previously mocked President Barack Obama as “a charismatic guy with a teleprompter” was recently photographed with talking points written on the palm of her hand. Personally, I think I’d rather have a teleprompter.

While I’m not as thrilled with our current administration as I had hoped, I am still a firm believer that America made the right choice not voting McCain/Palin into office. Now, as Palin continues her efforts to promote the National Tea Party, I’m fearful again that the puppeteers may write enough smart words on her hand to scare America into believing Palin would be a good thing for the country.

If “Energy,” “Tax,” and “Lift Americans Spirits” are at the top of your list for what comes next, then it’s important to remember that “budget cuts” was also scrawled and crossed out on Palin’s hand. What does that tell us about what’s to come if Palin is given a chance to run for office – any office – in the years to come?

Ranter

He does on to say that Obama was elected on hope, and apparently his qualifications, public personality, and ability to hold his own in debate (not to mention Sarah Palin is an idiot) had nothing to do with it.

“I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived,” Blagojevich said. “I saw it all growing up.”

The blubbering idiot continued along while trying – too late – to cement his point, but the damage has been done. I’m not sure when this fools twenty-minutes of fame are going to be up, but I think that time has passed and it is definitely time for him to move on and accept that the people have seen enough – shut up and move along.

Ranter

It’s time to move along folks – this story is well past its 15 minutes.

ranter

Too big for Lincoln University?

Hey fatty; yes you, the one with more lard in your ass than a micro-bus, you’re going to have to work just a little harder to get your college degree from Lincoln University in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because good grades are no longer good enough. That’s right, this “Historically Black University that combines the best Elements of a liberal arts and sciences” is leading the charge in the battle against obesity by requiring all students with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, which generally defines obesity, to take a fitness course that meets three hours per week. Don’t complete the class? Don’t graduate.

As students who entered Lincoln in 2006 approach their graduation, the controversy regarding this requirement is reaching new heights, with the best quotes seemingly coming from Tiana Lawson, 21, who doesn’t understand why the fitness requirement would be only for those that are fit today – “why would they want some people to be more healthy than others?” In case you didn’t guess, Lawson has also recently learned that she will be required to take the fitness class as her BMI exceeds the threshold.

“I didn’t come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range,” Lawson wrote. “I came here to get an education which, as a three-time honor student, is something I have been doing quite well, despite the fact that I have a slightly high Body Mass Index.”

The University’s response is about as you would expect with James DeBoy, the chairman of the school’s Department of Health and Physical Education saying that the requirement is just like courses to help with communications or math. Unfortunately, DeBoy is leaving out the fact that needing help in math is a technical issue and someone’s weight is a personal one, but hey, that’s a different rant all together. LeBoy goes on to say:

“We, as educators, must tell students when we believe, in our heart of hearts, when certain factors, certain behaviors, attitudes, whatever, are going to hinder that student from achieving and maximizing their life goals.”

It’s likely that it’s only a matter of time before the ACLU gets involved, because this certainly seems like Lincoln University is taking an intrusive role in trying to control how their students live their life.  Where do you sit on this debate?  Would you graduate?

Ranter