JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – President Joe Biden is calling for companies to put an end to “Shrinkflation.” Shrinkflation is a tactic companies use to offer less of a product without reducing the price.
Joe Biden announced Tuesday a “strike force” to crack down on “unfair and illegal” prices.
News4Jax reporter Brianna Andrews spoke to shoppers who said they could hardly afford essentials at the grocery store.
News4JAX ran into Carolyn Nickens on Wednesday. She said she is grateful to be a single elderly woman.
“This is one time being a senior citizen works to our advantage because I don’t have any children,” Nickens said. “I passed by a man the other day and he had the bottom of his grocery basket filled and had a couple of little kids, and I thought that groceries cost him $200 to $300.”
“How much would you say you spend on a weekly average?”
“Just for me, I say it’s close to $100. That’s basic. I eat a sandwich at night.”
Kim Robinson said she is also cutting back to save cash.
“I had cereal for dinner last night, so you just have to do what you have to do you know,” Robinson said.
President Joe Biden is pointing the finger at shrinkflation for the soaring costs of everything. To crack down on this, Biden is launching the “Strike Force” with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to prevent companies from practicing this.
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News4JAX went to a local grocery store and spent nearly $30 on three items. These are just some of the items Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey flagged in a shrinkflation report using data from the Labor Department.
According to the report, a pack of Oreos decreased by 6% in size, a mega-pack of Charmin gave 7% fewer sheets, and a bottle of Dawn had 7% less soap even though the prices all stayed the same.
Biden’s “Strike Force” should prevent companies from committing unfair and illegal price hikes on most products, such as food, prescription drugs, housing, and financial services.