Congress fails us all again on shrinkflation

OPINION:

Back in the old days, when America wasn’t so horribly divided (yes, there was a time when we didn’t hate those who thought differently from us), Congress used to get things done.

Don’t get excited. Congress was still despised by most Americans, and it really didn’t get a lot done. But members of both the House and Senate didn’t vote in lockstep with their party every single time. It wasn’t uncommon for 10 senators or 40 congressmen to vote with the other party on a bill.

Back in the 1970s, my dad used to tell me stories about members of Congress arguing all day and then hoisting a beer together in the evening. And even if it wasn’t true, we Americans had the sense that our elected officials were actually working for us.

That’s all over. Now, members of Congress are there for two reasons — to have a job for life and to get rich. Many do both. Every two years, only a couple of dozen of the 435 House seats are in play. It’s worse in the Senate. Right now, 19 members are 80 years old or older.

And good Lord, do they get rich — while doing virtually no work. Congress passed only 27 bills in 2023, but some members saw the value of their portfolios soar by well over 50%. One-third of members of Congress saw their investments grow well past the 25% profit mark. (Republicans earned an average of 18% returns on their trades, while Democrats earned 33%, according to one report.)

Of course, the system is badly flawed. The very people we elect to help solve problems take billions from the very interests from whom we need protection, and guess who our elected officials favor when push comes to shove? Yeah, not us.

Here’s one tiny, minuscule, infinitesimal example: shrinkflation. That’s when a box of Triscuits goes from 10 ounces to 8.5 ounces. Same price, fewer crackers. Sure, the delicious treats are “made of white winter wheat that’s 100% harvested by farmers in Michigan,” but they’ve got no problem selling you less product — in the same size box, mind you — and returning $1 billion to shareholders, as they did in the first quarter of 2024.

Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania Democrat, put out a report last December, calling out Frito-Lay, which reduced the size of a bag of Doritos from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces. “Though the company noted the change was due to the pandemic, it still posted a 9% increased operating profit between 2021 and 2022,” Yahoo said.

Back in January, right before the snack fest that is the Super Bowl, President Biden got his Depends in a wad and called out shrinkflation. “When buying snacks for the big game, you might have noticed one thing,” Mr. Biden said. “Sports drink bottles are smaller, a bag of chips has fewer chips, but they’re still charging just as much. And 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.”

Now, Mr. Biden is the consummate politician: He’s a career politician who owns two massive mansions, and everyone is his extended family has gotten rich. But he tells us all: “I’ve had enough of what they call shrinkflation. It’s a rip-off.”

So, what did Congress do about shrinkflation? Absolutely nothing. Not a thing. Zippy the chimp.

But other governments moved right away. “French retailers will have to notify shoppers when products have been reduced in size without a corresponding cut in prices in an effort to tackle so-called shrinkflation,” Reuters reported last month. “From July, French retailers will have to display for two months when food and other common consumer goods products like detergent have been downsized in a way that causes the unit price to go up, the ministry said.”

Well, will you look at that? A problem arose — sure, a problem created by the horrible system that has been set up — and a government actually moved to correct it. 

But not our Congress. There will be reports, studies and task forces, and none of it will matter. The very corporations that fund every election are the ones responsible for shrinkflation, so who’s going to rein them in? 

Not Congress, not Mr. Biden. They’ve got no real reason to do so. They’re making bank and are set for life. They couldn’t care less about you. 

So get used to paying more for less. It’s the American way.

• Joseph Curl covered the White House and politics for a decade for The Washington Times. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on X @josephcurl.