You're not imagining it. The bag really is smaller.
Shrinkflation and greedflation are not inflation, and I got mad enough about it to make a whole episode. Doritos went from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 at the same price. Gatorade dropped from 32 to 28 and redesigned the bottle so you wouldn't clock it. General Mills called it "price pack architecture" when talking to investors, which is a real phrase they actually said. The Kimberly-Clark CEO said out loud that raising toilet paper prices doesn't mean you'll use the bathroom less. That one's my favorite. Or least favorite.
Anyway. Corporate profits hit a record 2.8 trillion in Q4 2023. The Groundwork Collaborative found profits drove 53 percent of inflation in the back half of that year, versus about 11 percent historically. The FTC found grocery margins above their previous peak. Real wages were down 25 straight months. So no, it's not that you're bad with money.
There were two bills. Shrinkflation Prevention Act, Price Gouging Prevention Act. Both died in committee without a vote. Cool.
Sources
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