Thursday, April 24, 2008

Dying for something to eat...

Yesterday morning I heard an item on the news about price fixing in Supermarkets. Apparently Somerfield had been caught fixing prices on cheese and butter - which of course they deny. All I can say is that someone certainly did some fixing, because a few months ago the prices of these staples suddenly jumped considerably. Tesco's own-label butter, for example, jumped practically overnight from 54p to 85p. And when I went looking in other supermarkets to see what they were doing, all of them had priced their butter similarly. And I'm talking Sainsbury's, Waitrose and The Co-op. Suddenly it was impossible to buy butter any cheaper - anywhere. Maybe Somerfields were the ones who were caught red-handed, but I bet they're all equally guilty. Now, if it were a move to benefit the producers and the farmers, I'd be all in favour, but you bet it wasn't. It's about profits, the devil profits. And the fact that, given no choice, we all have to pay their prices. May they all go to hell in a handcart.

I suppose, though, that we all ought to be glad we're not living in Zimbabwe. Apart from the obvious awfulness of Mugabe and his ghastly army who are prepared to kill for votes, there's their inflation rate which is currently running at 165%. This of course serves to focus the minds of those poor people. If you are starving, your children are starving, and you can't earn enough money to buy a loaf of bread, then you're not going to be arguing about politics are you? That is unless you are very brave and prepared to sacrifice your life for the cause. I do hope that something terrible happens to Mugabe the Monster, and soon. Does it not occur to him that when he eventually falls off his perch, the only reaction will be celebrations and cheering? Surely he doesn't expect to be remembered as the saviour of the people, despite his earlier successes. These same people are the ones he is beating into submission if they fail to agree with him. It simply reinforces the truth of the old saying about "Absolute Power" - it corrupts absolutely. Absolutely..

9 comments:

Donna said...

Great post sweetie!! Made me want to go slap someone!!LOL...True, True!!! I'm also stocking up on butter!!...hughugs

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Thank you Donna, on the whole, it does make us realize how lucky we are doesn't it? Hugs, M xx

Milla said...

you;re so right. On both counts. Both are important. ANd do you know I saw something at the weekend pointing out that backwards RM is e ba gum trebor. which kind of makes him sound cuddly, which of course he isn't. And yes, aduki beans can only be bought in a frenzy.

the mother of this lot said...

I went to a 'Fair Trade' talk yesterday and learned that 1 in 5 people in the world are starving. I can't stop thinking about it.

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Hi again Milla, cuddly he isn't, and I so feel for those poor people. M xx

Hi The Mother, we really are so over-privileged (and over-fed) compared with most of the world, aren't we? M :-(

Anonymous said...

Price of bread shot through the roof too. Just because we farmers made a bit more on our wheat last year and the forecast looks good again this year, we have to pay a fortune for our bread and butter. Vicious circle really.

Crystal xx

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

I know Crystal, it's shameful. I wouldn't mind if everyone had a fair deal, but that just isn't the object of the exercise, is it? M :(

Rob Clack said...

Entirely agree about the supermarkets - to hell in a handcart!

At the risk of sounding unnecessarily picky, the Zimbabwean inflation rate yesterday was 165,000% I can't imagine how they calculate it, never mind survive.

A Mother's Place is in the Wrong said...

Hi there Rob, oh dear, I'm dreadful with figures - really. That's thousands of times worse isn't it? I can do mental arithmetic and my times tables, but that's about it! Thanks for visiting again. M xx