(WASHINGTON) — As polls show rising inflation weighing on American families, President Joe Biden has slammed companies for engaging in “shrinkflation,” allegedly decreasing the size or servings of a product while keeping the price the same.
During his State of the Union address Thursday, he criticized “shrinkflation,” calling on Congress to pass legislation that would discourage the practice.
On ABC’s GMA3 on Wednesday, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren touted a Senate bill that she is co-sponsoring with fellow Democrat Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
Warren said the bill would empower the Federal Trade Commission to go after companies involved in “shrinkflation” — as it does with other forms of deceptive pricing.
“I understand if companies’ prices have gone up and they pass it on, some of that pricing, to the consumer, I totally get that. But that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about price gouging,” she said.
Warren also praised Biden and said he created a task force to target deceptive pricing.
“He’s going after these big corporations that aren’t passing along price increases to themselves but are using inflation as a cover to keep those prices high,” Warren said.
Asked if she were worried how the issues of inflation and the economy could show up at the ballot box this election year, Warren said her bill is “about fairness.”
“If you need to raise the price of a bag of Doritos by 15 cents, then at least pay me the courtesy of telling me that’s what you’re doing,” Warren said.
Back in February, in a Super Bowl Sunday ad, Biden blasted the practice.
“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 the products little by little and hoping you won’t notice. Give me a break,” Biden said. “The American public is tired of being played for suckers. I’m calling on companies to put a stop to this.”
Biden and his allies have faced backlash for focusing attention on shrinkflation instead of inflation in general. On March 5, a beloved Muppet echoed their cause.
The Sesame Street character Cookie Monster posted on X: “Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller.”
Biden, along with multiple Democratic senators, responded to Cookie Monster.
Last Tuesday, Biden said he was “stunned” to find out “shrinkflation” “actually happened” to the fictional children’s show character.
“I’ll tell you who did notice — Cookie Monster,” Biden said.
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