In this consumer's world we chow through huge amounts of stuff, probably a lot more than we need. Over the years economists have reminded us that having things doesn't necessarily mean happiness, and can even mean unhappiness. The latest on this theme is Robert Skidelsky's 'How Much is Enough?' which draws on a theme of Maynard Keynes in the 1930s, where he imagined that as the human race grew richer it would seek more leisure. Eventually we'd only be working 15 hours a week. But that simply hasn't happened and the desire for more is a strong as ever. Pity then that Kellogg's, the famous branded cereal provider continues to rip us off and that we continue to fall for it. A box of Kellogg's All Bran Flakes here is smartly packaged but the contents are way less than the box. Kellogg's might argue that the contents 'settle' in transit but even the packet itself inside is a lot smaller than the box. This is waste, a lack of economic efficiency and deludes an easily-deluded public. Each box takes up more space in the truck, in the trolley and on the shelf. Well, it's a free market (sort of) and if Kellogg's gets away with it, well so be it. Kellogg's sure is big business, with 3rd quarter sales of $3.7bn and operating profit of nearly half a billion. It's a brand that's been around for over a century, not many like it. The QSL is from WKAR Radio broadcasting from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan just a few miles up the road from Kellogg's HQ in Battle Creek, MI. It was heard on a trip to Chicago in 1992.
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