Kamala Harris appeals to progressives with a promise to “take on price gouging”
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to tackle price gouging by corporations in her campaign, much to the enthusiasm of progressives who are counting on Harris to do more than Biden has done to combat food inflation.
Last week, Harris told a campaign rally in Atlanta that she would “take on price gouging and bring down costs” on “Day One” of her presidency.
That promise comes a few months after Biden called out so-called “shrinkflation” — the phenomenon of items shrinking in size, quantity, or, even, quality while their prices remain the same — during his annual State of the Union address to Congress. “Too many corporations raise prices to pad the profits, charging more and more for less and less,” the president said. He also joked about the candy bar Snickers, saying they are now smaller in size but available for the same price.
“The snack companies think you won’t notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer — same size bag — put fewer chips in it,” Biden added.
The president previously called out shrinkflation in anticipation of the Super Bowl and asked companies to “put a stop to this” in a game day commercial.
“I've had enough of what they call shrinkflation,” he said. “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," he said. "I'm calling on companies to put a stop to this.”
Although Biden vowed to fight high food prices and shrinkflation, he’s failed to wield executive power to target food retailers and major corporations at the center of the issue, per the request of progressives. Biden, however, has touted Sen. Bob Casey’s bill focused on shrinkflation, which he co-introduced alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The Shrinkflation Prevention Act would allow the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to crack down on corporations that reduce product size without a reduction in price. Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act already prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.” If the bill is passed, then shrinkflation would also be qualified as unfair and deceptive.
“Corporations are trying to pull the wool over our eyes by shrinking their products without reducing their prices — anyone on a tight budget sees it every time they go to the grocery store,” Casey said. “Pennsylvania families are sick and tired of digging deeper into their wallets for their weekly grocery runs while corporate CEOs laugh all the way to the bank. I’m fighting to crack down on shrinkflation and hold corporations accountable for these deceptive practices.”
Thus far, Casey’s bill has been endorsed by Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic policy research group, along with Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer rights advocacy group. The bill currently has seven Democratic co-sponsors including Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Patty Murray of Washington, as well Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food's newsletter, The Bite.
Food inflation is a major topic of concern within the 2024 campaign, both among Democrats and Republicans. In addition to Harris’ promise, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has criticized the Biden administration’s policies and asserted that he’ll end the “inflation nightmare.”
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2.2% in 2024. Food-at-home (defined as grocery store or supermarket food purchases) prices are expected to increase 1% while food-away-from-home (defined as restaurant purchases) prices are predicted to increase 4.3%.
In 2025, prices for all food are predicted to increase 2%, with food-at-home prices expected to increase 0.7% and food-away-from-home prices expected to increase 3%.
