Biden's Bizarre 'Shrinkflation' Nonsense
The White House should stop taking policy and messaging tips from Elizabeth Warren.
When President Joe Biden was running for office in 2020, he explicitly promised that putting him in the White House would mean that "you'll actually see your standard of living go up and your costs go down."
That, uh, hasn't happened.
We don't need to relitigate the entire economic history of the Biden administration in this space, but here's a quick recap: Inflation surged to a 40-year high, peaking above 9 percent in June 2022. Prices are now rising less quickly, but inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2 percent. (It was 3.4 percent for the 12 months ending in December. We'll get January's numbers on Tuesday morning.) Biden's policies—specifically, the $2 trillion spending package he signed in March 2021—certainly contributed to that inflationary spiral. Economists will continue to debate how much of a factor it was, but voters tend to operate on a more facile level of rewarding presidents for good economic times and punishing them for bad economic times. And rightly or only semi-rightly, Biden's name is attached to this bout with inflation.
You might expect the president, now that he's in the middle of a re-election campaign, to try to avoid anything to do with that topic. Don't remind voters of how rough the past few years have been, focus on the future, talk about the positive signals coming from the economy, and above all else don't make yourself look like an old man yelling at a cloud.
In short, don't do this:
While you were Super Bowl shopping, did you notice smaller-than-usual products where the price stays the same?
Folks are calling it Shrinkflation and it means companies are giving you less for every dollar you spend.
I'm calling on the big consumer brands to put a stop to it. pic.twitter.com/wL1NsEh78F
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 11, 2024
Biden declined to do the traditional Super Bowl Sunday interview with the network hosting the game, and instead the White House released an economically illiterate and politically confusing video of Biden railing against "shrinkflation"—when you get few chips in a bag or less ice cream in a carton, as Biden claims.
Yes, this is a real phenomenon—one that most Americans dislike. It is, obviously, a direct consequence of inflation. If the marginal cost of producing every chip goes up (because potatoes or corn or labor gets more expensive), then a bag of 100 chips is either going to cost slightly more or become a bag of 90 chips and cost the same.
Given that reality, Biden telling companies that he wants them to stop shrinking their products is a bit bizarre: If they did what he asked, prices would almost certainly rise. Is that really what the White House wants?
A different version of this video might lean harder into trying to blame corporations for inflation and the resulting "shrinkflation." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) has been on that kick for a while. That is also nonsensical, because corporate greed doesn't rise and fall periodically, as Warren seems to believe.
But Biden doesn't even try to go down that path. He doesn't threaten to take any action against companies engaged in "shrinkflation" and doesn't call any of them out by name. All he accomplishes here is reminding voters of a sneaky way that inflation is still robbing their wallets.
As a political matter, this video is effectively a flashing sign telling voters: "Hey, did you think inflation was less bad now? Actually, it's still happening!" In what world is that helping Biden? For that matter, when was the last time the president actually bought himself a pint of ice cream or a bag of chips—with his own money, in a real grocery store? The more you think about it, the less sense this video makes. The White House should probably stop taking messaging advice from Warren.
The time to fix inflation is before it starts. Once it gets rolling, it is difficult to control and tends to make voters (understandably) quite irritable. There's nothing Biden can do, at this point, to fix "shrinkflation," so the most powerful man in the world is reduced to looking like an out-of-touch old guy shaking his fist at the sky. That's an accurate image, but probably not the one the White House intended to send.
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Just stop buying that shit.
Well, that’s a fairly level-headed response.
You mean everything? I look forward to buying your products
Last I checked – fruits, vegetables, meat, build grains are all sold and priced by weight.
And we’re all to eat what you desire? Fuck off, slaver.
What kind of politician declines an invitation to have a softball interview on national TV during the fucking Super Bowl(!) and speak directly to 160 million potential voters in an election year – and the rest of the world?
Who the fuck is actually running this country?
Putin?
Well halftime was after 8, so the motherfucker was probab)y in bed already. We all know damn well that his sleepy-time goes from roughly 7 PM to 5 AM.
Those interviews are all pre taped.
The kind of politician who has difficulty hiding his dementia during interviews. Actually, no one is running this country. No one has EVER run this country. It’s one of those meaningless myths that takes on a life of its own from repeated use and abuse. We should be very glad that the President doesn’t actually run the country.
Who the fuck is actually running this country?
Deep state bureaucrats, same as for the past 20, 50?, 100? years. They let the president change the curtains and other small things, but they don’t need him.
i’m pretty sure [with maybe a couple exceptions] you’re right
I’ve been legitimately asking this. I’ve even looked into it and I don’t know. I looked up who was Chief of Staff and he has a brand new one. So it’s not likely the Chief of Staff (who is Jeff Zients). Is it Jill? Is it Chris Dodd? Blinken? Burns? It’s not Joe and it’s not Kamala.
My guess ultimately is the final call falls to Blinken, but that’s just a wild guess.
Obama, in an uncredited role.
Is this cut and paste from last year? He skipped that one too
“Who the fuck is actually running this country?”
Johnny Fuckerfaster, but he doesn’t want anyone to know it.
Who’s running it? Largely Obama through his proxies on Biden’s staff. Soros and some others hav ether hands in it too.
Ooh! I know!
“One who doesn’t plan to depend on actual votes to retain power.”?
Posted in daily, bears repeating
Imagine highlighting how bad a job you did with inflation, how out of touch (detached from reality) you are to not realize it, how stupid you are to highlight this to a bunch of people currently consuming the products right this minute who blame you for Bidenomics, and how inept your team is to think this would land.
Well, his team are the kind of people who would post a Dark Brandon meme suggesting they rigged the SuperBowl.
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1756888470599967000
I do wonder exactly what kind of strategy meetings they’re having at the DNC and whether they’re currently willing to let Biden implode. I’m pretty sure if it were up to Obama he’d be running for his 5th term by now.
Sometimes I can’t tell if these politicians really believe that inflation is caused by greed, or if they know that they are the cause and are taking advantage of economic ignorance.
How can they be the cause if they’re just the referee?
ICWYDT
The choice there is whether our politicians are cynically evil or mind bogglingly stupid. Biden and Warren just might be on the stupid side. They may not be able to understand that they cannot just decree how things shall be and they msgically are with no negative consequences. The only reason they can think that things do not turn out according to their plans are malicious persons taking advantage.
Right. They don’t intend it so it can’t be a consequence.
This post reluctantly written by Eric Boehm.
Oh, you noticed.
Strategically written article.
JUST SHUT UP AND BUY YOUR CHEESY-POOFS IN BULK AT COSTCO.
-Dipshit Dave Weigel
Why yes. You’re learning Mikey.
There is no shrinkflation at Costco. You can buy lard by the bucket there.
Wut?
https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-finance/articles/these-5-costco-finds-are-smaller-than-they-used-to-be-heres-why/
This is a really pathetic line of argument. The fact that it’s possible to save money by buying generics and buying in bulk has always been true. It is just dumb to pretend that means that general price inflation doesn’t matter.
Consider the source. Shrike is probably the dumbest motherfucker here.
That’s really saying something, given that the list includes Pedo Jeffy, Sarc, Mod, etc.
turd, the ass-clown of the commentariat, lies; it’s all he ever does. turd is a kiddie diddler, and a pathological liar, entirely too stupid to remember which lies he posted even minutes ago, and also too stupid to understand we all know he’s a liar.
If anything he posts isn’t a lie, it’s totally accidental.
turd lies; it’s what he does. turd is a lying pile of lefty shit.
The time to fix inflation is before it starts.
Jerome Powell tried that when he hiked rates three times and Donnie had a bitch-fit and threatened to fire him (He couldn’t have)
Hey when was Trump president again? Who said Inflation didn’t exist or was transitional.
Let’s go with your logic – Trump ignored the advice. Ok, so how many rate hikes in 2021 and 2022? How was inflation than? First day in office Biden had the rates raised right?
Can you see how stupid your argument is?
He can’t. He’s too stupid for that.
turd lies. turd lies when he knows he’s lying. turd lies when we know he’s lying. turd lies when he knows that we know he’s lying.
turd lies. turd is a lying pile of lefty shit and a pederast besides.
Shaq already covered shrinkflation years ago at Papa John’s. Nice to see everyone else catching up.
“you’ll actually see your standard of living go up and your costs go down.” That, uh, hasn’t happened.
“Yet. We have to finish the job!”
I remeber s deodorant many years adevertising a NEW SIZE! which had a bigger container with less deodorant.
Later, a candy company sold a smaller bar for the same price. They claimed that was what consumers wanted. They didn’t ask me.
Don’t believe the companies or the politicians. Be a smart shopper.
Geez you’d think he’d like this since it only effects spittin tobacco. Why does Joe Biden support mouth cancer?
The menthol cigarette ban is now the problematic nicotine issue. Gotta be tough to work out how to get rid of them without pissing off a favored voting block. If only those badly educated urban poors would understand that the Democratic party always knows what is best for them, they would act/vote appropriately and smoke Marlboro reds instead.
Also, forego all that revenue…
The definition of a Democrat.
A person who STEALS endlessly while running around self-projecting/blaming the very hands that feeds them for robbing them (because their stolen goods weren’t to their theft gaining mentality standards) while remaining completely dead-set against actually producing anything for themselves.
NOTHING is stopping Biden from starting a 100-chip/bag potato chip business… NOTHING! But his and his ilks own criminal self-entitlement thoughts.
Ya know what Biden is selling? A $20,000 bag of chips with ZERO chips in the bag from the IRS.
Yes, Biden I agree with you that there is “shrinkflation”. Last presidential election we voted for a president and now we have something much less than a president. Something much less competent that what a president should be. Someone who is too senile to stand trial. It’s okay because the vice president can step in and assume the power to deliver word salads of nonsense for him. It would be hilarious skit if is wasn’t that state of reality.
+
We have a narcissistic, senile puppet, th it’s directed and largely controlled by Marxists who are a proxy for their true master, Barack Obama.
I don’t buy it. Obama wasn’t running things during his two terms. The same marxists assholes controlled him too.
Biden specifically called out ice cream on this shrinkflation rant.
Last time I checked, Ice cream still comes in gallons and half-gallons like it always has.
And the reason chip bags aren’t full has nothing to do with shrinkflation either. It’s been that way for decades.
The bags are inflated to slightly above normal air pressure before they are sealed. The positive pressure air space helps keep the chips from being crushed in shipping.
This is why more solid containers, like a can of Pringles is filled to the brim while bag chips aren’t.
Last time I checked, Ice cream still comes in gallons and half-gallons like it always has.
Some brands do. A lot of them have reduced the half-gallon size down to three quarts.
Yup. Breyers is a good example. Skinnier package, same height.
So it had to be a significant savings if they paid to reprint and redesign the full line of packaging.
Also changed to an inferior recipe ~25 years ago.
3 quarts is 50% more than a half gallon
See? This is Biden’s economy, vote for us and you get an extra quart of ice cream!*
*this message paid for by the DNC
There’s a local grocer selling milk for $1.99 but it’s 96 ounces instead of a gallon. Prior to FJB I could always count on finding a gallon of milk for $1.99
As has long been done with coffee. Used to be standard 48 oz (3 lb.) cans, now it’s 29 oz., 35 oz, any fucking random size they need to offer a particular price point. I remember having to prove it to my wife that she wasn’t getting great deals on cheap ground coffee. She just figured “A can’s a can, right?”
Wait isn’t shrinkflation when George Costanza jumps in cold water pool?
That’s standard shrinkage. Shrinkflation is when George gets out of the pool and then gets a peek at the girl sunning herself topless in the episode.
The FARC terrorist cells anre now activated in NYC. Biden state department declare FARC (and Houthis) non -terrorist organizations in 2021:
https://nypost.com/2024/02/12/news/tren-de-aragua-gang-uses-migrants-in-nyc-phone-robberies/
Assume this is why bitcoin is up, waiting for the kidnappings to start.
Biden’s a professional at causing inflation, he is eminently qualified to discuss it.
“Shrinkflation?”
Isn’t that something you allow for when a guy jumps into a bathtub filled with cold water?
Something you mention before going skinny dipping in a mountain lake.
The current president – any president really – cannot cause inflation. And inflation is not too much money chasing too few products. In the ideal world of libertarian economics, increasing prices should lead to decreased demand – demand elasticity it is called – or increased supply leading to lower prices. But in the case of food, well you have to eat and so this is called inelastic demand. Prices will remain high. And that is the Presidents and Elizabeth Warrens beef.
But it the supply-demand-price link in play? I like to use the “Pepsi” index to evaluate the economic impact of corporate marketing policies. Pepsi makes consumer products that most consumers can really live without and are well and truly disposable. Demand should be elastic Yet, people buy these otherwise useless products even with those high prices, which means demand is passing as ineleastic. The CEO of Pepsi (and quite a few others) have publicly stated that they are happy to keep prices high knowing that demand appears inelastic. In the last quarter of 2023, Pepsi net profits increased 147%. They have raised prices in 11 straight quarters. And Pepsi has even spoke of targeted price hikes during the coming year. At what point is a price too high? And if demand falls they simply adjust product size. Pepsi’s total volume of sold product fell ~5% in 2023 yet they reported a very nice profit. How does that happen? Shrinkflation and price gouging. Its not like they have anyone to compete with. How many companies make soft-drinks?? Store brands have a great chance to score some market share here. But will they? The manufacturers are absolutely going to milk this situation for all its worth.
Corporations are analytical entities. They used the pandemic as a gigantic marketing excercise and came to conclude that their profits can be maintained because of their market position and inelastic demand. Prices will rise like a rocket and fall like a feather (if they fall at all) in such a situation. And sophisticated marketing to consumers has converted a want into a need.
Elizabeth Warren and President Biden are right to point out yet another excellent example of how markets fail. They actually should make the point explicit. You want to complain, well then complain about capitalism since that is the root cause of the problem.
Whether price control legislation is appropriate is another story. Some retailers are beginning to ask questions, though. In Europe Carrefour is delisting Pepsi products from stores in several countries. A Walmart or Kroger doing the same in the US would send a message. But for certain, at this point, the consumer has to say, enough. Make your demand elastic. Do you really need those potato chips and cheetohs?
“The current president – any president really – cannot cause inflation.”
Sure they can, by printing money:
“Monetizing $5.2 trillion in COVID relief increases our money supply by 27% and comes on top of $4.5 trillion in QE. Add another $2 trillion in planned infrastructure spending and we have $13 trillion in new money, which is a 35% increase in paper money in circulation and 60% of GDP. It’s a lot of paper.”
What a stupid analysis. The definition of inflation is LITERALLY too much money chasing too few goods. Demand elasticity is a correlation, not a causation
Right: it’s as though a huge influx of largely unnecessary money had absolutely nothing to do with demand and prices?
Has to be another 50 center, hoping most of us are as dumb as he she or it looks.
Looks like J(ew) Free has a new handle.
And inflation is not too much money chasing too few products.
It is, by definition.
But in the case of food, well you have to eat and so this is called inelastic demand.
Except “food” is not a product. When meat is too expensive, you buy bread. When bread is too expensive, you buy rice.
I like to use the “Pepsi” index to evaluate the economic impact of corporate marketing policies.
Why? Pepsi literally contains addictive chemicals and is in a market that is strongly characterized by near-fanatical brand loyalty. Cigarettes are also useless products people can live without, and yet demand for cigarettes is quite inelastic. Why use products with classically inelastic demand that rely on image-based brand loyalty to make a point about elasticity and marketing?
Corporations are analytical entities. They used the pandemic as a gigantic marketing excercise
How so?
Elizabeth Warren and President Biden are right to point out yet another excellent example of how markets fail. They actually should make the point explicit. You want to complain, well then complain about capitalism since that is the root cause of the problem.
What is President Biden doing to dismantle Capitalism, exactly?
Whether price control legislation is appropriate is another story.
You’re aware that price control legislation has, in fact, been tried before, right? And that it has never resulted in anything other than disaster?
Do you really need those potato chips and cheetohs?
If the answer is “no,” then why are you complaining about their prices going up?
I can’t reveal too much inside info, but Coke and Pepsi are the two corporations where the Biden/Warren line of Greed has some merit.
At least one of them is involved in litigation with their bottlers over contract pricing with large retailers and the ever increasing cost of their syrup, which has not followed the price of corn. They have raised pricing with the largest retailers 3X per year since the pandemic, instead of once.
That’s for bottled soft drinks. Every other consumer good tracks with commodity pricing, as well as tracking with labor costs. In the retailer side, shrink, AKA theft, is at astronomical levels. That can directly be attributed to Democrat policies and Democrat rhetoric
This is resident commie J(ew) Free with a new handle.
Wait, Moderation4 and jfree are the same dude?
I get confused with a lot of the trolls here. I just assumed by the formatting it was moderation4ever. Not that either of those handles really has a shtick that’s different from the other.
Lol! There’s no worry about inflation under marxism because there’s no product to buy.
A 14% increase in profits tracks with the 14% inflation we experienced.
So, Joe, a dozen isn’t 12 anymore?
De o rats were never good at math. Too ‘racist’ for them.
Hey, Eric? Who got your vote?
But no mean tweets so it was worth it.
Boehm voted ‘stratwgically’for every bit of this. So he really is to blame. I also have no doubt he will vote for it ‘strategically’ again.
Everyone like Boehm is the enemy of the American citizen., and humanity in general.
It’s really the complete lack of self awareness that’s most disturbing. With few exceptions, the self declared libertarians at Reason should stumble through the human feces and homeless immigrants crowding the sidewalks of NYC, stand on the corner and hang their heads in shame for a big glossy group photo. Instead we get mealy mouthed protests about the guy they endorsed who had been doing the same shit for 40 years.
It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. When I found out that 50% of US voters are not aware that Trump is under indictment (of any kind) I knew nothing would ever matter. Policies don’t matter. Outcomes don’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you think Trump is a crook or if he’s innocent. It doesn’t matter if Joe Biden can or can’t remember what he had for breakfast. There are people voting right now who are not aware that Donald Trump ever was a president to begin with. By the sheer virtue of being aware of these topics (regardless of your opinion on them) you are the minority.
It wasn’t much different during the revolution. Only 3% of the population were actively involved. It was enough. We might do even better the second time round.
I consider it likely that we find out sooner than later at this stage. Especially if the democrats cheat successfully again.
Since President Biden took office, [the Producer Price Index] has risen 17.5%. That means producers in the marketplace – the companies and businesses making the consumables that we purchase – have seen their costs of making products raise 17.5% over what they had been in the Trump years. [The Consumer Price Index] has risen 17.1%. To be sure, an over 17% hike in inflation on citizens and families represents inexcusable economic leadership.
But make sure to note that according to the actual numbers, businesses are actually protecting consumers from an additional .4% increase in their out-of-pocket expenses in an effort to maintain their customer base in these tough economic times. Perhaps that sacrifice explains why the Biden administration’s own numbers reveal that corporate profits have fallen consistently for six straight quarters.
Imagine the arrogance it takes to film a video short for social media that refuses to take any responsibility for your own failed economic policy, but instead blames and wags the finger at businesses who themselves are victims of it, and who are actually shouldering a greater share of the burden in order to protect the people you’re pandering to. That’s the current administration in D.C.
-Peter Heck
“…the Biden administration’s own numbers reveal that corporate profits have fallen consistently for six straight quarters.”
Waitwaitwait…”citation definitely needed”, as I’ve been hearing a shit ton of crap like “profits up 34%” and “profits up 147%” and “profits up 2 bazillion percent”. Which, wrt Big Pharma at least, could be true. Now we have someone with the authority of “being a REASON commenter” states the opposite.
Please clarify, sources, etc.
I learned about shrinkflation over 60 years ago, when I noticed that nickel Hershey Bars were getting thin. The length and width stayed the same, but the thickness decreased until there was more wrapper than chocolate. (This didn’t start in the 1950’s; I once saw a picture of the original 5 cent Hershey Bar, from before 1900, and it was a thick slab with several times as much chocolate as the earliest ones I remember.) Then the price doubled to 10 cents, while the Hershey Bars got a little thicker, but not double. And I couldn’t persuade Dad to double my allowance.
Pretty soon the price reached the stratosphere at 25 cents, then they stopped playing with the size of the bar and just raised the price several times a year. Shrinkflation has limits, like a chocolate bar so thin it falls apart before you get it unwrapped, but prices are unlimited. But blaming that on corporate greed is socialist propaganda – it’s always the government creating too much money without a matching increase in the amount of stuff people can buy.
In school in 60s and 70s, they taught us to look at weights and product volumes in relation to price. Hint, it’s printed on the package.
You can say OK Boomer if you feel that will help.
Everyone is all but saying “Biden is stupid as sht” — so why not sayi it ????