The Price Of Bananas Just Went Up

It saddens me to report that the price of a banana from my corner fruit dealer at 28th Street and Fifth Avenue rose this week by 40 percent.  At least I think it's 40 percent; ratios aren't my specialty.  Anyway, he's charging 35 cents per perfect yellow banana, which is a dime more than he charged last week.  I tried to explain to my dealer that purveyors of certain necessities, like bananas and bubble gum and psychotherapy, should not be allowed to raise prices so rapidly that consumers must consider a lifestyle change according to someone's capricious whim.  He nodded, and just kept repeating: "Thirty-five cents.  Thirty-five cents. Thirty-five cents."