Shrink

If the tunnel fee of the Tate's Cairn Tunnel is raised, does anyone demur? On the other hand, if the grocery product - be it yogurt, toothpaste or toilet paper - shrinks in size without change in price, does anyone make a sound? Not much - and that's a problem.

Unbeknownst to most of consumers, manufacturers around the globe have been quietly trimming the content of their packaged products to maintain their profit margins. People might read intently the price tag during shopping and complain about the flagging economy. But trust me, most of us have never realised that decades-old tactic of product downsizing with the "same price". Under the disguise of a strategy called "weight out" in industry parlance, Dreyer's ice creams no longer come in the half-gallon (65 oz.) tub; the 12% smaller cartons hold only 56 oz.

All this - and there's much more, but I won't labour the point - is incredibly difficult for a consumer to take note of. Utter the phrase "consumer fraud" and the mind envisages a shrewd and cunning businessman in front of us. Now, I am having trouble deciding whether our health care management boss belongs to one of those businessmen. Reductions in services on the weekend are the norms in most hospital settings, under the disguise of restricting doctors' work hours (in order to minimize medical mishaps). Those of you who admire the improved patient safety, as a result of reduced sleepiness and fatigue of medical doctors, might not have paid attention to the staff shortfalls on weekends. All right, I am exaggerating - but only a little. If you don't believe me, come to hospitals and take a look at the hospital parking lots on weekends.

If you ask me what is the difference between downsizing the ice cream silently and cutting the hospital service on weekends, the obvious answer is that the former cost-control measure won't kill.