Shrinkflation: Packages get smaller; prices don’t – National & International News – WED 8Jun2022

Shrinkflation: Packages get smaller; prices don’t. Gun control: bipartisan Senate talks resume after deadly weekend. Russia-Turkey talks to end Ukraine grain blockade.

NATIONAL NEWS

Shrinkflation: Packages get smaller; prices don’t

Some astute shoppers may have noticed recently that the packages of some of their favorite products are getting smaller while their cost either stays the same or rises. This phenomenon is called shrinkflation, and if you haven’t noticed it yet, you soon will be seeing it everywhere and on a wide variety of products. Gatorade for example has reduced its 32-oz. bottle to a 28-oz. bottle, as seen above. Other examples include packages of toilet paper that once contained 340 sheets now contain 312. Folgers coffee has recently shrunk its 51-oz. can to 43.5 oz., but claims it will still make up to 400 cups (made possible by a new technology, so Folgers says). 

Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate, has followed the phenomenon of shrinkflation for decades. “It comes in waves” Dworksy says, “We happen to be in a tidal wave at the moment because of inflation”. 

Experts say manufacturers use shrinkflation as a way of raising their prices without raising prices. This can happen due to a rise in production or packaging costs. More cynical observers might say this is recent “tidal wave” of shrinkflation is part of an overall trend of corporate price-gouging, but with shinier and slimmer packaging.

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Gun control: bipartisan Senate talks resume after deadly weekend

Just this past weekend, the nation saw 13 mass shooting events in 10 states. Those incidents claimed the lives of 18 people and left at least 72 wounded. At the end of last week, bipartisan talks on gun control appeared to be at a standstill in the Senate. In the aftermath of the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Democratic Senators joined a handful of Republican Senators to try to hammer out a compromise that could garner the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster.

This week there seems to have been some break in the deadlock. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is one of the leading participants said yesterday that negotiations are at a critical stage. Sen. Murphy seemed hopeful the bipartisan group might reach a deal by the end of the week. One reason for his optimism, Murphy says, is that his Republican colleagues seem more receptive to compromise because they are getting calls from their constituents demanding action.

Recent polling shows Republican voters overwhelmingly support measures like universal background checks, red flag laws, and mental health checks on people looking to purchase guns. Another poll shows that 91% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 59% of Republicans support raising the legal age to buy any gun to 21.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Russia-Turkey talks to end blockade on Ukrainian grain

For the last two months, Russian warships have been blockading most of Ukraine’s sea ports in the Black Sea. The threat of attack from Russian ships has kept merchant vessels carrying millions of tons of grain from leaving port. The war has already had an outsized effect on food supplies all over the world. Ukraine is a major supplier of grain to North Africa and Asia. Without that grain, many of those countries will soon face crushing food shortages. Many already are, and all have seen grain and bread prices rise precipitously.

In a recent UN Security Council meeting, Russia’s delegation walked out after the European Council president laid the blame for global food shortages at their feet. Lithuania’s foreign minister recently proposed assembling a naval ‘coalition of the willing’ with ships from various countries. The purpose would be to escort grain ships out of Ukraine’s port in Odessa past waiting Russian warships. While the plan is ostensibly peaceful, there is ample room for calamity that could escalate the ongoing conflict.

In hopes of resolving this crisis peacefully, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry is holding talks with Russian diplomats. According to Turkish officials, Russia wants sanctions relief in exchange for lifting its blockade. Russia has also asked that Ukraine remove the undersea mines protecting the last port under their control in Odessa. However, doing so would leave the port vulnerable to Russian attack.

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