Inflation Hits Home

It's finally happened...real people are getting affected by inflation. Yesterday afternoon I headed up to the lounge to purchase a soda with a quarter and dime in hand only to find that my $.35 was not enough to buy a Pepsi any longer. As of yesterday afternoon, a can of pop cost a quarter, a dime and a nickle. I was forced to put my change back in my pocket and go pop-less the rest of the day (basically because I was too lazy to walk back down to my desk to grab a nickle and go back up to the lounge for a pop I really didn't need.)

But, what I'm getting at is that inflation is hitting everywhere now including the pop machine in the lounge at work. Even worse, the inflation spread to the snack vending machine. A bag of Tom's Potato Chips raised from $.35 to $.40. Same with pretzels and hot fries. A Snickers went from $.45 to $.50. Same with other candy bars and candies, like M&Ms and Milky Ways. Even harder hit were the Power Bars which raised from $.85 to $1.00. That's a whopping 17% cost increase in a matter of minutes.

Sure, we may all be crying about high gas prices but I want to know what the government is going to do about these unjustifiable increases in my snacking habits. I really think there should be some type of windfall tax against the vending people. It's ridiculous to think I'm paying $.40 for a can of pop when the vending companies are raking in billions every year while sticking it to the consumers. Or the government needs to lift the ban on new soda refineries. It is a travesty that there hasn't been a new soda manufacturing plant built in this country in over 30 years. How high must the price get before the government intervenes?

In the meantime, I suppose I will try to cut back on my soda. Maybe drink a little slower to try to get it to last longer throughout the day. I would prefer everyone else cut back though so I can continue to drink as much as I want. I suppose I'll adjust somehow...but if prices get too much higher, I'll really get mad and just might do something about it. Or not.