This weekend, you probably paid more for Doritos, Cheetos, and Tostitos for the third Super Bowl in a row thanks to high inflation. Even more, the bags probably seem a little smaller or less full than in years past.
President Biden wants us to blame Frito-Lay and every other food manufacturer of chips, cookies, and soda for being greedy. He claims that they shrink the packages yet charge the same price or more.
President Biden’s gaslighting on Superbowl ‘shrinkflation’ is like an arsonist blaming a blazing inferno on the makers of the torch and gas can that he’s holding in his hands.
What happened
In an post on X.com, the president noted
You know, when buying snacks for the game, you might’ve noticed one thing, sports drinks bottles are smaller, bag of chips has fewer chips, but they’re still charging us just as much.”
He continued:
As an ice cream lover, what makes me the most angry is that ice cream cartons have actually shrunk in size, but not in price. I’ve had enough of what they call ‘shrinkflation.’ It’s a rip-off. Some companies are trying to pull a fast one by shrinking their products little by little and hoping you won’t notice. Give me a break.
Shrinkflation is a longstanding retail strategy. It has been occurring more frequently for the past few years coinciding with the rapid acceleration of prices of goods and services. Consumers have been paying the same prices for smaller chip bags and sports drink bottles or for fewer paper towel sheets on rolls. It was especially noticeable in 2022, when inflation hit a 40-year-high of 9.1%. Stories began appearing in the fall of 2021 about inflation on ice cream and other grocery store items.
Companies adjust quantities and packaging to keep pace with changing economic conditions and the market. The pandemic disrupted supply chains and drove prices up for ingredients, which were passed onto consumers in higher prices.
It feels frustrating for consumers to pay the same price for less or, worse, to pay more for less. Like us, companies are still grappling with inflation levels that have not returned to their early 2021 levels.
Shrinkflation is a function of rising prices on ingredients, packaging, and transportation. Inflation took off from decades-long low stable levels of about 2% after President Biden took office and enacted nearly $2 trillion of federal spending in 2021, compounding the trillions of dollars already injected into the economy to fight COVID and the money printed by the Federal Reserve.
President Biden continued federal spending sprees through his infrastructure bill and his non-inflation-fighting Inflation Reduction Act—a package of climate change subsidies for special interests.
Shrinkflation is an unsavory consequence of these ill-advised federal fiscal and monetary policies that caused decades-high inflation, which we still feel today.
Making marginal adjustments to packaging and quantities is not illegal as long as companies update their packaging to reflect the changes. President Biden does not claim that shrinkflation is illegal either. Otherwise, the administration would sue companies.
As for the extra “air” in your chip bag, there’s an explanation for that too. Snack bags aren’t filled with air but nitrogen gas. Oxygen reacts with snack ingredients such as oil and breaks them down quickly, which reduces the shelf life of foods and leads to spoiling or stale foods. Conversely, nitrogen reacts poorly to other chemicals, making it an excellent preserver for foods like chips. The gas is safe to inhale and keeps foods fresh longer.
Bottom Line
Shrinklfation is a consequence of three years of high inflation due to the pandemic and excessive federal policies.
President Biden says that “The American public is tired of getting played for suckers.” Let’s call on him to abandon Bidenomics. The Biden economic agenda has left our wallets empty but our debt load overfull.