The Daily Gouge

Just before the economic crisis really hit with a bang, I had noticed the gouging of the middle class getting progressively worse. I knew this couldn't continue, and somehow it had to stop. It was all going to blow, because they couldn't continue to make us pay and pay and pay and never give us any raises or job opportunities. So I'm going to start listing some of the ways I was gouged and my response.

Okay, I'm going to start with Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix. One day a month or two ago, I was out shopping and noticed that Giant Eagle was out of Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix. I bought my usual groceries and decided to go to Shop 'n Save for items I didn't find at Giant Eagle. While at Shop 'n Save I noticed Hodgson Mill Buckwheat Pancake Mix now cost close to $5.00. NO WAY was I going to spend that for a box of pancake mix! Well, the next time I was at Giant Eagle, they had received another shipment of the mix. They had priced it at $2.74. Well, that was a good deal, but I knew it wouldn't last. So I bought a box of it and was using it until it went up to $4.74! I just got angry and said, screw it, I'll buy some buckwheat flour in bulk and make my own buckwheat pancakes from scratch! Well, I went to the food coop for my monthly shopping trip and stocked up on buckwheat flour. I made a supply of frozen buckwheat 13-grain with flax seed pancakes from scratch, and they weren't that bad. A couple days later, I went to Wal-Mart, and they still have the Hodgson Mill mix for $2.72.

The moral of the story: Hodgson Mill has now lost a customer because of the gougers. If the gougers had kept the mix at a reasonable price, I never would have gone to the food coop and bought buckwheat flour in bulk. However, the gougers have forced me into it, and now I'll just permanently change my lifestyle and make my buckwheat pancakes from scratch!