Ohio Senator introduces bill to tackle ‘shrinkflation’
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio.) is fed up with corporations decreasing the size of their product without also decreasing the cost. It's called “shrinkflation.”
"People are suffering under this," Brown said.
Brown says people should not be paying more for fewer chips or cookies in the bag. He says corporations are ripping off the American people.
"Doing all kinds of deceitful marketing, deceitful sales practices," he said.
Brown wants to crack down on companies for quietly shrinking the size of their products then charging more.
"People are paying more for their groceries because of stock buybacks and because of profiteering by a lot of American companies," he added.
Brown has introduced a bill that would make it easier for federal and state officials to sue corporations that engage in shrinkflation.
The Shrinkflation Prevention Actwould:
- Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate regulations to establish shrinkflation as an unfair or deceptive act of practice, prohibiting manufacturers from engaging in shrinkflation.
- Authorize FTC to pursue civil actions against corporations who engage in shrinkflation.
- Authorize state attorneys general to bring civil actions against corporations engaging in shrinkflation.
Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul says it's not just the cookies that are shrinking.
"The dollar is shrinking and it's from debt," Paul said and he adds massive federal spending is driving inflation.
"The government should be involved only in the sense that the government should quit devaluing the dollar."
Brown's bill also has the backing of the White House. President Joe Biden raised the issue during his State of the Union Address earlier this month.