Brennen+H’s+OpEd+Article



As time progresses, either there is some kind of phenomenal and bizarre coincidence, or increasingly money is being demanded for fewer and poorer quality goods and products. Not having taken an economics class, I can’t provide too many technical statistics or observations, nor is that what I’m here to give. The following consists almost entirely of first-hand observations and experiences, and what I would think to be considered common sense (but hey, what do I know, right?).

A week or so ago, I sat down with some friends, expecting to enjoy a decent lunch as per usual. All was going well, when I decided to open up a bag of Doritos chips to compliment the roast-beef and swiss-cheese topped sandwich I had been eating. In this instant, I was faced with the brutally pathetic reality of just how cheap companies and corporations are becoming. They shrink the bags down to miniscule sizes and slap on titles like “snack size!” in an attempt to disguise the fact that you’re getting less of the product for not-so-less of the price. Adding major insult to this otherwise somewhat minor injury, this particular bag of chips, already miniature, was not even filled to the halfway point. A small cluster of chips rested in a single corner of the (reduced-size) packaging, and even this consisted partially of crumbs. This is not an isolated incident.

Snack food-producing companies are not the only ones at fault, of course. Another industry significantly marred by the growing epidemic of reduced quality for greater profit is that of video games. Companies, especially larger companies like Capcom and EA, known for producing and publishing higher-budget, “AAA” titles, are increasingly outputting games with less content for the same old price of a full new game ($60), and then tacking on extra payments by making users pay to download the content that was taken out of the game to begin with.The point of this “DLC” process was initially to add on to already well fleshed-out and completely developed games, but it has degenerated into just another way to eat through the wallets of consumers.

Unrestrained and undisturbed, I have an ominous hunch that processes like these which take advantage of the consumer will only grow more popular. The best way I can think to combat this problem is to call out all of the corporations and companies that engage in these basely attempts to save a buck, on as large a scale as possible. Let’s be honest, that picture of the chips is just an embarrassment.