Published: April 11, 2008 10:04 am            

Inflation at the pump spurs high prices everwhere

Anyone who has to drive on the road knows that gas prices are up. Way up. Most people I’ve spoken to have said they’re cutting back on trips and making sure they get their errands finished all at once. I know the feeling.

I’ve never been able to figure out how the oil prices are measured. It has something to do with how much people across the globe use, as well as the futures market. I think it’s just a conspiracy by someone to make all of our lives tougher than they already are. That idea beats doing research to find out the real cause.

Along with the increase in gas prices at the pump comes the increase in prices for just about everything else. To get goods from a warehouse or factory to the stores requires gas. The more those people pay for gas, the higher the groceries and other items hauled cost. Everything gets passed along to us, the weary consumers.

Reports on the news have stated the price of bread, sugar, and other necessities will continue to go up due to the rising gas prices. Not only is it going to cost more for the gas to go to the grocery store, but we’re all paying more for the groceries, too.

Like many people, I try to comparison shop when I am buying groceries, probably more now that I used to do. I don’t buy a lot of extra items that I probably won’t eat, and I don’t make as many trips out of the area like I used to do. It’s a fact of life for most of us who work.

With that in mind, a few items available at the local stores have piqued my interest. The main item is something old that’s new again, at least to those who aren’t old enough to remember when they were around the first time. Coca-Cola has started selling its soda in the small 6-ounce bottles again.

That was the size they were sold many years ago, before we got into the 12-ounce can and the 20-ounce bottle. Nostalgia is a good thing sometimes. It can remind us of memories gone by and how fuel prices once upon a time didn’t mean you had to take out a second mortgage to fill up the gas tank.

The odd thing about the Coke bottles is that, given their size, they should be cheaper than a six-pack of the 20-ounce bottles or the 12-ounce cans. You’re getting less, so you should pay less. At least that’s the way I think it should work, but that just means I’m wrong again. It isn’t the first time.

Oddly enough, a four-pack of the 6-ounce Coke bottles costs around $4. That’s not a lot of soda for your money. A 20-ounce bottle can usually be found for $1 or so in most stores or from a soda machine.

I’m not sure if the price is higher because the soda comes in glass bottles or because people are willing to pay more for the sake of nostalgia. I know one person who swears that Coke in the smaller bottles tastes better than the Coke that comes in a can or a plastic bottle. Maybe it does, but I don’t know why it would.

It’s not just soda that’s higher than it used to be. Few people are interested in buying records anymore. I buy used ones when I can find them cheap, but music companies also issue new music on records, too. The sound quality is better than that of an MP3, and sometimes sounds better than a CD because of compression and other issues, but the price is not any cheaper.

Most of the time, the new records cost as much, if not more than for a CD. Paying more for yesterday’s technology seems a little odd to me, but I can at least explain this one. The music companies only make a limited number of the records because only a few people are going to buy them. It makes sense that they might cost a little more, and the music companies can claim that the record pressings are a “special edition.” I haven’t heard if they’re going to start producing eight-tracks again.

I suppose the music companies could also claim that record prices, along with CDs, are higher due to the high gas prices. Maybe that’s why the special Coke bottles cost more. Whatever the case, thanks to the gas prices, I’ll stick to the music I have to listen to and maybe water to drink. It’s supposed to be better for you, anyway.

Mark Blevins is a Princeton Times reporter. Contact him at mblevins@ptonline.net.

        

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