To the Editor:
It is unfortunate that the American consumer is being ripped off, especially the poor and middle class, by everyone. I’ve noticed each time I go to the supermarket I’m facing what I’ll call “reduced package sizing.” By that I mean the traditional size package is being shrunk. The latest experience was with Mueller macaroni, where the usual 16 ounce package suddenly shrunk to 12 ounces, yet the price remained the same. Shame on the food producers who are taking advantage of the consumer.
Other examples include the shrinking of the juice containers from 64 to 59 ounces; the shrinking of the Hellman’s mayonnaise jar from 32 to 30 ounces; and the list could go on and on. We have all experienced this. Where will it end?
It is now time for the consumers to go on the attack and refuse to buy the reduced sizes. If we do nothing, all the other macaroni producers will shrink their package from the traditional one pound to 12 ounces, which is a 25 percent reduction.
Look at what the Coke consumers achieved when Coke changed the color of their can from red to white. Their customers rebelled and Coke had to change back to red. With the U.S. population at 312 million, imagine what kind of a protest we could launch to end the practice of reduced packaging. Let’s show them our power and protest loud and clear so they get the message.
The poor and middle class can no longer take it. We are being hammered with higher taxes, increased fees, higher tolls on the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, as well as the Port Authority bridges and tunnels. There is little or no interest being paid on our savings and fees galore are being added by our banks, as well as a significant reduction in services provided by our communities on a federal, state and municipal level. Perhaps the Occupy Wall Street movement is on to something. It is time for us to start fighting and protesting what is happening. Where will it end? Everyone needs to hear from us, including our elected officials who say nothing about what is happening to us, the store we patronize and the products we buy. We need to start somewhere and perhaps it could be a boycott of Mueller macaroni products. Then on to the next item, which could be the over 50 percent increase in Turnpike and Parkway tolls, which are scheduled to go into effect in January, while our governor says he’s cutting our taxes. My question is, where?
BARRY J. DUGAN