Shrinking food packages

As to water, Israel controls the critical shared mountain aquifer that runs the length of the occupied West Bank. The World Bank reports that Israelis use 240 cubic meters of water a person each year, against 75 cubic meters allocated to West Bank Palestinians.

That's because Israelis bath.

I do believe the first noticeable product was the sugar. When did anyone notice that the bags had gone from 5# to 4#? There are still 5# bags being produced and sold at some stores. But of course they cost more than they used to. Way more. Everything is being redesigned and downsized across the shelves. No one is willing to downsize their profit margins so the bait and switch has begun.

Jean C. Rostollan: If you can, buy in bulk. You'll save money and have less packaging to recycle (and throw away).

Note to Jean C Rostollan, Burnsville: Educated people are not easily fooled. Are our education dollars properly prioritized? Perhaps allocate less for arts and crafts and more for consumer education. Let's not lower the education standards anymore than they already are.

Sorry, Tim Mahoney. You're wrong. Pawlenty has nothing to do with increasing property taxes or cutting local services. That responsibility lies squarely in the lap of your inept mayor who does not have the discipline to live within his means. When revenue streams dry up, as they have in households throughout your fair city, responsible people know what needs to be cut first - the cable bill or the grocery bill. What's the equivalent of the cable bill in government budgets? Here's a hint - it's not public safety. The only true tax reform is less spending.

"The purpose of LGA is to allow Minnesotans to live in any community and receive similar services for comparable taxes." No, the purpose of LGA is to redistribute money from the Suburbs so that residents of St Paul/Minneapolis don't have to pay the true costs of their cities.

"What will likely be cut in St. Paul because of the LGA cuts? Libraries, after-school programs, parks and public safety." Oh, I don't know, anything that will evoke fear and panic in the green living urbanites that need their lifestyle subsidized.

"And more and more seniors and families will be priced out of their homes because of increasing property taxes." This will only happen if the city gov't tax their citizens out of their home. Let's curtail bronze stautes, fancy waterfountains, pretty bike trails and feel good projects. Let's place an emphasis on public safety, efficient services and service that enhance property value and commerce.

The real problem here is, once again, the House and Senate failed to do their jobs. They failed to put together a responsible budget that respects the fact that, we can not keep raising tax rates to replace lost revenue due to economice downturn . They lack the guts to say no to anyone. The harsh reality is that not everyone and everything deserves funding. Schools need to live within their budgets. Welfare roles need to be trimmed by toughening elegibility and reduction of benefits. Most importantly, they need to be reserved for those that truely need help, not baby factories, drunks and druggies.

You see Tim Mahoney, your precious LGA may get sacrificed because you failed at your job. You failed to bring forth a responsible budget that is fair to all Minnesotans, especially to those who pay the bills in this state.

Mellers wrote:

Jean C. Rostollan: If you can, buy in bulk. You'll save money and have less packaging to recycle (and throw away).

Good idea but it will take some infrastructure and probably some extra work. Might need some extra pantry space and a freezer. You might be spending some money on zip-lock bags to break the bulk purchases down into smaller portions. If the food is perishible and can't be frozen, you can't buy too much or it will spoil and that would be a waste, too.

Actually, I believe coffee was the first to downsize from 3 pounds to 2 lbs. 7 oz. Btw, all of this began pretty much the same time we had the "gas crisis" in the 70s. Educated people aren't easily fooled? Give me a break!

Bob the Bilderberg wrote:

That's because Israelis bath.

But they know how to spell bathe.

Mahoney, you are a complete moron(from Wikipedia....."Moron " was coined in 1910 by psychologist Henry H. Goddard[3] from the Greek word moros, which meant "dull" (as opposed to "sharp"), and used to describe a person with a mental age located between 8 and 12 on the Binet scale.[4] It was once applied to people with an IQ of 51-70, being superior in one degree to "imbecile" (IQ of 26-50) and superior in two degrees to "idiot" (IQ of 0-25). The word moron, along with others including "retarded", "idiotic", "imbecilic", "stupid", and "feeble-minded", was formerly considered a valid descriptor in the psychological community, but it is now deprecated by psychologists.)

Here is a quote from your editorial:

"The city of St. Paul this year is estimating it will receive $121 million less in LGA than was certified in 2003 — one year after Pawlenty was elected."

St Paul is only scheduled to receive $60 million in LGA for 2009, and if all of it is cut for 2009 and 2010, your math might be right. I think it is more likely that you are pulling the old fear mongering stance of the DFL, no police, fire, etc. if anyone touches your LGA. Even if St Paul's LGA is completely cut, why should St Paul and Minneapolis get subsidized by Eagan, Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Lakeville, Apple Valley, Mendota Heights, Maple Grove, Plymouth, Minnetonka, and so on?

If St Paul hadn't chased most of their business out to the point that signing a lease for a 25 person office is considered a major coup, there might be other options than raising property taxes, but as it stands, St Paul has made a mess out of its allocation of resources. Its time to fix the problem and take responsibility now.

Pawlenty is playing fair, its too bad that the never say no DFL can't see it.

Tim, maybe cities like St. Paul should try and control their spending.

St Paul wont control their spending as long as some one else is picking up the bill

Former Ranger wrote:

"he would have electrified the Muslim world." Not a bad idea, but how do you wire them all?

You tell them this new country is avaliable where you don't have to be accountable for your actions, expect everyone to follow the laws/rules that you brought from your previous craphole and have all afforded rights to be offended towards everything the new country was founded on.

They will all come running.

In Sundays paper there were a variety of letters about the couple who got the run-around on getting aid from the State. The article, which I didn't read all of it, apparently insinuated that the State workers were indifferent and lazy. The letters almost all jumped on that band-wagon, screaming for the lazy workers heads, bemoaning the poor couple's suffering. But lost in that bunch of letters was one from a state worker, which is one of the reasons I love reading Letters is once in a while you hear it from the source.

In that letter, she talked about cuts to staffing, and the terrible case load these people have to carry. I know someone who is a Social Worker, and they have hundreds of people to keep track of, it is not humanly possible to carry that load and do it well. This is the results of Pawlenty "no raising taxes" stance. Those who say the government is bloated my be right in some cases, but don't complain, not a peep, about the overloaded workers who are trying to do the impossible in these State Agencies.

My mother is currently suffering from severe arthritis. She cannot care for herself, and the cost of assisted living is too much for her income, our her childrens. We need help from the county, and so will many of you as your parents age. So watch what you wish for with Pawlenty's cuts.

whatever wrote:

Actually, I believe coffee was the first to downsize from 3 pounds to 2 lbs. 7 oz. Btw, all of this began pretty much the same time we had the "gas crisis" in the 70s. Educated people aren't easily fooled? Give me a break!

Folger's doesn't really count as 'coffee'.

When are people going to wake up to Pawlenty's tricks. He could care less about this state. He seems to forget the LGA money is from OUR taxes and we want OUR ocmmunities to be taken care of. My property taxes have gone up 63% too and I am tired of it. Sometimes I think they want us all poor and in the streets.

M Cullen NE wrote:

When are people going to wake up to Pawlenty's tricks. He could care less about this state. He seems to forget the LGA money is from OUR taxes and we want OUR ocmmunities to be taken care of. My property taxes have gone up 63% too and I am tired of it. Sometimes I think they want us all poor and in the streets.

LGA is only 50 - 60% from "your" taxes. The rest is imported from Lakeville, Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Maple Grove, Plymouth, North Oaks, Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, Shoreview, etc. Why should you get your tax dollars back + the suburbs tax dollars paid in? Subsidize your own $50k drinking fountains, your own "free" appliance recycling programs, etc.

M Cullen NE wrote:

When are people going to wake up to Pawlenty's tricks. He could care less about this state. He seems to forget the LGA money is from OUR taxes and we want OUR ocmmunities to be taken care of. My property taxes have gone up 63% too and I am tired of it. Sometimes I think they want us all poor and in the streets.

And you can thank Cryback, your local school district, and the Hennepin county commissioners for your property tax increases, Pawlenty had nothing to do with it, except being a target for the DFL to misplace your ire.

yes, we should blame Pawlenty, and the No tax people for moving taxes from the State Tax to the Property Tax. You have to pay for what you get. You can't have nursing home care (a county expense) and street maintainance (a city expense) and the like without paying for it. You just can't. Its the same people whining about the long lines at the drivers lisense place and the quality of our roads that are the first to cry about their taxes. You pay one way or another, and when revenues are down, we all have to pay more. Or, if your Tim Pawlenty, you just borrow billions, hack at funding for old ladies care and call it a day.