Bouncing Hedgehog

Posts Tagged ‘greed’

Around two years ago gas prices in the US took a big hike – well over $4 a gallon for me. They literally doubled and as a result my grocery bill also doubled. I bitched at the time but put up with it purely and simply because I understood that delivery prices to the supermarkets would also have doubled. Most supermarket suppliers here have no choice but to ship by road no matter where they are shipping from. The rail infrastructure sucks so road is it.

However, gas prices now are significantly less than that high that was reached. As a result the prices I pay at the grocery store should also have dropped accordingly. After all, as they said at the time, it was the price of gas causing the problem, not them. But they haven’t. Not at all. I am still paying the same price in a lot of cases and MORE in many others.

Grocery prices in the US are much higher than elsewhere in the world anyway. Many years ago that wasn’t the case. Back in 1973 when I first lived in the US grocery prices were significantly cheaper than the UK – where I hail from. When I came over here in 2003 that position was reversed. The UK was way cheaper. What happened America?

Anyway, back to the present. Gas prices have gone down – my grocery bill has headed in the other direction. Not even for a few weeks was the drop in gas reflected in supermarket prices. So just who is responsible for me feeling ripped off? Trucking companies not dropping their “unavoidable” rise in delivery costs? Or the supermarkets who liked the higher prices which once gas prices dropped meant higher profits?

I saw a news story today and promptly did a double take. Apparently US President Barack Obama will be going before the UN General Assembly and telling them that the United States cannot solve all the problems of the global community by itself.

He will also be telling leaders who apparently weren’t too happy with America acting unilaterally in the world that it is time for a true global response to global challenges including climate change, terrorism, endless conflicts and poverty.

Right…

“Climate change.” Good one! What about the Kyoto protocol? Still unratified (and hence non-binding on the US – or in other words America doesn’t have to do squat about greenhouse emissions – we don’t want to interfere with profits now, do we?) despite having been signed by the US. Talk about lip service and not meeting your responsibilities. Read the rest of this entry »

You have to laugh. You do. Really. The alternative is crying. Trina Thompson a graduate of Monroe College in the Bronx is apparently sueing her former college because she couldn’t get a job. “They have not tried hard enough to help me,” she wails in her lawsuit.

Poor little sausage. Finding a job by herself is obviously all too much for her. Welcome to the real world Trina. Perhaps anyone who has ever had an education could also sue if they can’t find a job. After all… God forbid that anyone anywhere should ever have to take responsibility for their own life. Whatever next?

I am all for colleges helping their students try to get a job, but to hold the college responsible when the student can’t find one they like? Give me a break. Read the rest of this entry »

I see that Facebook has bowed to public pressure and recanted its recent change about who owns what and who can do what with it whenever they like. basically Facebook wanted to be able to use your stuff in any way they saw fit whenever they liked. Even if you subsequently deleted it. What a fine example of corporate greed. Not content with the millions they’re making in advertizing revenue they wanted to make money off your stuff too. Fortunately there was a backlash and they’re now returning to their previous TOS. Read the rest of this entry »