{"id":2362542,"date":"2024-11-01T05:55:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-01T09:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-is-not-a-shrinkflation-nation-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-01T05:58:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-01T09:58:09","slug":"america-is-not-a-shrinkflation-nation-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-is-not-a-shrinkflation-nation-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"America is not a shrinkflation nation &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Famerica-is-not-a-shrinkflation-nation-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2362542&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u200darticle titled &#8220;America\u200c is not a shrinkflation nation&#8221; discusses President Joe Biden&#8217;s remarks \u200bregarding &#8216;shrinkflation&#8217; during his\u200b State of the Union address, a term that\u2062 refers \u2063to companies \u2063providing less product for the same price, effectively raising prices while reducing quantity. Biden\u2062 highlighted how snack \u200bfood manufacturers, like \u2062those of Snickers\u2064 and Doritos, altered their product sizes instead of adjusting prices directly, \u200bwhich he criticized as corporate greed. <\/p>\n<p>Biden \u200bcalled attention \u200bto\u2062 this issue and pushed for the passage of the Shrinkflation \u200cPrevention\u200b Act, \u200dwhich seeks to regulate shrinkflation\u2063 practices through the \u200dFederal \u200cTrade Commission. He indicated that many corporations increased their profits at the expense of consumers, with the author of the bill, Senator \u200bBob Casey, supporting his \u2064claims with research\u200c indicating significant profit growth in the food \u2064industry during a period of\u2064 inflation. <\/p>\n<p>The article also delves into economic concepts, explaining how companies might reduce product\u2063 sizes in response to rising costs and shifts in consumer demand, a strategy that\u200c some brands adopted during \u200dthe\u200b pandemic. it examines how the administration is attempting to combat inflation-related practices and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-blocks-3-8b-jetblue-buyout-of-spirit-airlines\/\" title=\"Judge halts .8B JetBlue acquisition of Spirit Airlines\">protect consumer interests<\/a> in\u2064 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/local-journalists-laid-off-as-media-conglomerate-suffers-heavy-losses\/\" title=\"Local Journalists Laid Off As Media Conglomerate Suffers Heavy Losses\">challenging economic environment<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">America is not a shrinkflation nation<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1802916\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">President Joe Biden<\/a> is arguably America&rsquo;s chief executive with the sweetest tooth since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ronald-reagan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ronald Reagan<\/a>, who kept a bowl of jelly beans on his desk long before the Jelly Belly brand was&nbsp;<em>de rigueur<\/em>. Biden is also the snackiest president since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Bill Clinton<\/a>. So when he read reports that potato chip and candy bar manufacturers were skimping, he appeared to take that personally.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Too many corporations raised prices to pad their profits, charging more and more for less and less,&rdquo; Biden complained at this year&rsquo;s State of the Union address before Congress. &ldquo;In fact, the snack companies think you won&rsquo;t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer, same-size bag, put fewer chips in it. No, I&rsquo;m not joking. It&rsquo;s called shrinkflation. Pass [Sen.] Bobby Casey&rsquo;s [D-PA] bill and stop this. [Laughter and cheers.] I really mean it!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Biden added, &ldquo;You probably all saw that commercial on Snickers bars. You get charged the same amount and you got, I don&rsquo;t know, 10% fewer Snickers in it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The president&rsquo;s discussion of &ldquo;shrinkflation&rdquo; was situated between his administration&rsquo;s plans for Social Security and its war on so-called junk fees. These were both major emphases of his now lame-duck administration, which is an indicator of how much Biden either detested shrinkflation or believed the issue would resonate with voters.<\/p>\n<p>Snack food corporations had different tactics to address the president&rsquo;s charge. Snickers manufacturer Mars, for the most part, simply denied that it was true.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We have not reduced the size of Snickers singles or share size in the U.S.,&rdquo; a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings. &ldquo;Like many industries, we continue to face high inflation and spikes in material costs; however, we work to absorb these extra costs wherever possible to provide affordable treats and the best value. Final prices are always at the discretion of the retailer, but we make every effort to minimize costs to provide a full range of delicious products.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, Biden had snack chips&rsquo; and other mass food providers&rsquo; numbers with that criticism. Thus the cheers from the cheap seats in Congress. He urged both houses to pass a bill titled the Shrinkflation Prevention Act, which would &ldquo;direct the Federal Trade Commission to issue regulations to establish shrinkflation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice,&rdquo;&nbsp;according to the bill&rsquo;s official description.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Pandemic prices&nbsp;or &lsquo;greedflation&rsquo;?<\/h2>\n<p>The bill&rsquo;s author dropped it in late February and attempted to launch it with some urgency. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t wait a year to buy paper towels or to buy boneless chicken or to buy groceries or to buy Huggies diapers,&rdquo; Casey&nbsp;told<em> <\/em>the<em> New York Times.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Casey&nbsp;is up for reelection this year in a neck-and-neck struggle with&nbsp;veteran, wealthy former asset manager, and George W. Bush administration alumnus&nbsp;Dave McCormick.&nbsp;The Pennsylvania senator&nbsp;has sunk considerable capital into the issue of&nbsp;shrinkflation, or&nbsp;&ldquo;greedflation,&rdquo;&nbsp;as he calls it.<\/p>\n<p>As chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee on Children and Families,&nbsp;Casey issued four reports&nbsp;on prices and profits. The third report, &ldquo;A Greedflation Report &mdash; Shrinkflation: How Corporations Are Shrinking Products to Super-Size Profits,&rdquo; is the most relevant.<\/p>\n<p>Casey&rsquo;s&nbsp;&ldquo;Shrinkflation&rdquo;&nbsp;report charges that, between July 2020 and July 2022, &ldquo;Federal Reserve research shows that 41 percent of inflation over this time was due solely to larger corporate profit-making.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>To stick with the president&rsquo;s favorite example, &ldquo;Frito-Lay reduced the size of a bag of Doritos from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces,&rdquo; according to the report. &ldquo;Frito-Lay blamed the pandemic, but Frito-Lay North America&rsquo;s operating profit increased 9 percent from 2021 to 2022, while Frito-Lay&rsquo;s parent company, PepsiCo, touted the snackmaker&rsquo;s performance. Prices for Doritos increased as volume decreased, and PepsiCo outperformed its earnings expectations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Both bags listed their volumes,&nbsp;allowing&nbsp;interested customers&nbsp;to&nbsp;note the decrease.&nbsp;Casey nevertheless holds this up as one of many examples of &ldquo;greed&rdquo; and deceptive marketing that he would like to see regulated out of existence.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want size with that?<\/h2>\n<p>However, the reason for the reductions in volume by major brands&nbsp;likely&nbsp;had to do with what economists call the substitution effect. It is called that because of the&nbsp;&ldquo;change in demand for a good as a result of a change in the relative price of the good compared to that of other substitute goods,&rdquo; according to the Corporate Finance Institute.<\/p>\n<p>The example given by the CFI is that&nbsp;&ldquo;when the price of a good rises, it becomes more expensive relative to other goods in the market. As a result, consumers switch away from the good toward its substitutes.&rdquo;&nbsp;In other words, rising prices serve as a price signal telling customers to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>At least initially, during the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">wrenching early supply chain disruptions caused<\/a> by COVID-19, major brands thought&nbsp;they were&nbsp;providing&nbsp;almost as much product at the same price and&nbsp;believed that&nbsp;was a good thing. Casey&rsquo;s report quotes one unnamed Frito-Lay representative, who explained, &ldquo;We just took a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep your chips.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Most snack manufacturers were frank about what they did and why they did it, but consumers and congressional watchdogs&nbsp;took this badly.&nbsp;There was such a noticeable backlash among consumers that many brands are now&nbsp;reversing course, by reinflating those snack bags, for instance.&nbsp;Tostitos and Ruffles&nbsp;announced in October that they will soon&nbsp;add about 20% more chips to what they call &ldquo;bonus bags,&rdquo; for the same price.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the president&rsquo;s very public lobbying, the&nbsp;Shrinkflation Prevention Act&nbsp;stalled in Congress. It was read&nbsp;twice in the Senate and led to a few hearings. The last one, before the&nbsp;Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy,&nbsp;took place&nbsp;in late March.&nbsp;Perhaps the coming extra crunch can serve as some consolation.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremy Lott is the <em>author of <\/em>The Warm Bucket Brigade: The Story of the American Vice Presidency<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1802916\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1802916\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden criticizes snack companies for shrinkflation practices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2692,"featured_media":2362543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BizCover.1106.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5374,9168,44137,32076],"class_list":["post-2362542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-america","tag-economy","tag-shrinkflation","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BizCover.1106.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2362542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2692"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2362542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2362542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2362543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2362542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2362542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2362542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}