nickel and dimed

Does anyone else notice that all our big companies, in an effort to just make that next quarter's earnings, are selling us less and less, for more and more? Let's take my preferred airline, XXXX. At XXXX, they used to give you hot food on flights. Then they gave you cold food. Then they gave you snacks. Now they sell you food.

They used to award free flights after so many miles travelled. They still do this, but now they charge a "processing fee." Is that a free flight? Now they also charge you for a "telephone ticketing service." You're supposed to do it yourself.

I know this is a cranky thing to write about, but sometimes, when the phone company wants to bill me for this and that little thing, and the credit card company wants to raise their fees, and my investment manager wants to raise his fee (since when do i get charged for giving them my assets to work with?), and my airline wants to bill me just that little extra for taking the trouble to sell me a ticket, i feel bitten. Not served. Not sold. Nipped. And I don't have the energy to chase down every $5 option out there, so they get away with a lot of it. Still, it creates a funky environment for humans.