On the recordDecember 14, 2011
I wanted to just comment obliquely here based on what you've been talking about. In looking at job creation in a given region, if I look at the regions that I've been privileged to represent, we have many small companies or medium-sized companies. I happened to be speaking with one of them the other day, Hirzel, which is a major producer of tomato products in our region. {time} 2050 And I said, you know, I was looking for your spaghetti sauce on the shelves of one of our major grocery chains, and I couldn't find it. And it's the best sauce I have ever eaten. I said, How can I help you expand your product placement on the shelves of stores across the country? The owner of the company, a family-owned company--and they are the most wonderful people--he said to me, Well, you don't really understand, Marcy. We really aren't allowed on those shelves because one of the big spaghetti sauce manufacturers--and I won't mention the name--pays the grocery store a fee to keep all new products off their shelves. And even though Hirzel's is not a new product, it's regionally bound; and they can't get on the shelves of supermarkets because of what's called ``slotting fees.''
