Daily Blog – John E. Johnson, Jr. – July 28, 2008: WHY SO EXPENSIVE?

I went into the local grocery store a couple of days ago and saw that they had installed a gelato stand. That is basically ice cream with an Italian twist. Anyway, it was $3.99 for one scoop.

I am shocked that stores are not realizing the state of the economy here in the USA.

Needless to say, there was no one in line to purchase a scoop of ice cream at 4 bucks a pop.

I see also that there are still groups of people in unions threatening to strike for more money and better medical benefits.

Blu-ray movies are about $30 each.

Is everyone in La La land these days?

It is time to cut the “got to make a nice profit no matter what” attitude.

So, the ice cream will get icy and not get sold, the unions will stay out of work for months and get a small settlement that ends up actually costing them compared to what would have happened if they just stayed on the job in a horrible economy, and I don’t know about you, but I am not prepared to pay 30 dollars for a Blu-ray movie except maybe for Gone with the Wind, Ben-Hur, Casablanca, and a few others. Perhaps in a year or two when the word RECESSION is a memory, but not now.

Everyone must get used to the concept of decreased cash flow. Everyone, including big businesses. The time will come when Big Oil faces that too, because the electric cars are roaring towards consumers like a freight train. My family will be driving two of them in 2009 when they hit the dealer showrooms.

So, we have less money to spend. The gelato needs to sell for $1.29 a scoop. Those ready to strike should forget about it for at least one year, and be delighted that they just have a friggin job. Blu-ray movies should sell (sticker price) for $19.99, with the conventional DVDs at $14.99 maximum. And, “20% Off on all Movies this Week” should be on lots of store windows.