Longtime Dem senator rails against big companies' 'greedflation,' but donor records show another story
Longtime Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey has made "greedflation" and rising prices at stores a key election platform in 2024, but donor records reviewed by Fox News Digital show he’s benefited from the big stores he rails against on the campaign trail.
"Bob Casey calls it greedflation, and he's fighting back," an ad published in March by the campaign says.
"My plan gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to punish corporate price gouging. Let's roll back their huge tax breaks to put money where money it belongs, in your pocket," Casey says in the ad.
Another ad, published in April, detailed that chicken, toilet paper and cereal prices have all increased, pinning blame on "big corporations."
Fox News Digital reviewed Casey’s donor contributions and found that despite sounding the alarm that chicken prices have increased by 35%, the Casey campaign received $9,000 from a PAC representing the largest poultry producer in the U.S., Cargill Inc., since 2017, Federal Election Commission data shows.
"Toilet paper up 10% — profits increased $100 million," an April ad declares. The corporate PAC of the company Procter and Gamble, the company behind Charmin, has donated $15,500 to Casey’s campaign since 2017, according to FEC data.
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Casey has also benefited from massive cereal producer Kellogg’s despite slamming cereal companies for providing the "same packaging, smaller box, familiar logo, fewer servings amid the inflation woes under the Biden administration."
A review of FEC data shows PACs associated with Kellogg’s donated a combined $16,000 to Casey’s campaign since 2017.
Kellogg's PAC, the Kellogg Company Better Government Committee, no longer exists after Kellogg's split into two companies last year. The PAC that WK Kellogg Co. manages has since donated $1,000 to Bob Casey for Senate.
"CEOs sneak around, downsize favorite brands, charging more for less. Same packaging, smaller box, familiar logo, fewer servings," Casey said in the April ad.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Casey campaign, asking if he plans to return the donations in light of railing against the big companies and their CEOs.
"Bob Casey is an independent fighter who will always stand up for working people against corporate greed and companies ripping off Pennsylvanians," Maddy McDaniels, spokesperson for Bob Casey for Senate, told Fox News Digital.
The two ads did not cite the companies by name, but Casey has previously called out the corporations in various Senate reports published by his office.
"One of the sneakiest examples of shrinkflation is a change made to Dawn Ultra & Dawn Ultra Platinum dish soap. Proctor & Gamble [sic], the makers of Dawn, reduced the formerly 7-ounce dish soap to 6.5 ounces but left the bottle the same physical size with the same price. They simply filled the bottle with slightly less liquid and hoped families would not notice. The following year, P&G reported it did not see a need to offer sales or price cuts and celebrated returning '$3.8 billion of cash to shareowners via approximately $2.3 billion of dividend payments and $1.5 billion of common stock repurchases," Casey wrote in his shrinkflation report published in 2023.
"Frosted Flakes: Kellogg raised prices on its products over 14 percent between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023," Casey's Greedflation from November detailed.
Inflation has fallen considerably since its peak in 2022 at 9.1%, the highest rate since 1981, and now sits at more than 3%, which is still higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%. The economy and inflation under the Biden administration has since become a top voting issue heading into the 2024 election.
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"Even as inflation has slowed, families are still paying higher prices, thanks to corporate greed, or greedflation. Under the guise of inflation, corporations are raising prices on American families and raking in record profits to boot. From July 2020 through July 2022, inflation rose by 14 percent while corporate profits rose by more than 74 percent — nearly five times the rate of inflation," Casey adds on his official Senate page.
Casey has served in the Senate since 2007 and is anticipated to have one of the most closely watched races this year as he faces off against Republican challenger Dave McCormick.
"It’ll be a close, tough race," Casey told NBC earlier this year. "But, look, there’s a lot on the line every time. Every time I’ve run for public office in Pennsylvania, I’ve had to earn the vote and the trust of the people. And I got to do that again."
McCormick’s campaign released an ad this week detailing the Bronze star recipient’s time at West Point.
"I went to West Point with Dave McCormick, and Dave stood out as a leader there in every way," former U.S. Army Captain Cliff Harris said in the video. "In the classroom. And as an athlete. Dave McCormick embodies the values of duty, honor and country that are instilled in us at West Point."
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Various polls from the last month show Casey ahead of McCormick, though the Republican challenger has recently closed in on the Democrat as the election season further intensifies.