The US president, Joe Biden, is known for his fondness for ice cream, a fondness scarcely seen since the famed fictional American figure, Tony Soprano, would indulge in a television binge accompanied by a sundae after a stressful day. Even within the confines of the White House, it appears that Biden often helps himself to this beloved summer treat from the freezer. Furthermore, he’s voiced his displeasure about the current state of certain products.
Despite his advanced age and presumably intense workload, Biden has retained a keen interest in his culinary vice. He utilised the Super Bowl weekend – essentially an American tradition for guilt-free snack indulgence – to voice his discontent about diminishing product quantitiies while prices remain stagnant, likening it to buying a bag of crisps only to find that there are far fewer crisps inside.
He noticed the reduction in size of sports drink bottles and crisp bags, yet the prices hadn’t dropped. However, his biggest discontent was with the downsizing of ice cream cartons. “These companies are decreasing their products bit by bit in the hopes their customers won’t notice,” Biden grumbled. He indicated disappointment that despite the normalisation of supply chains, companies were not making savings available to consumers.
Although it’s been a long time since Biden himself had the opportunity or desire to do his own grocery shopping, his grievances resonate with his ‘man of the people’ persona. Following his Super Bowl complaint, a task force was established to address “shrinkflation”. This phenomenon of diminishing product size yet steady prices has proliferated alongside inflation and has continued to resist reduction even with the alleviation of supply chain disruptions.
Absent was the alleged ‘Sleepy Joe’ during a recent compelling speech where Biden astutely expressed his vision, further emphasising his common touch.
This week saw an unexpected supporter for the president take centre stage – none other than Sesame Street’s famous creature fond of cookies, the Cookie Monster. The puppet, famed for his excessive cookie consumption and little dialogue beyond his motive love for them since 1958, has recently transformed into a source of promoting healthy consumption habits. He fondly reflects on the wild days of the ‘70s and ‘80s, likening himself to Robert Downey jr., in his consumption of cookies.
This week brought to light that despite this, the Monster’s old habits may not have faded, as he voiced his disapproval for ‘shrinkflation’ on X, complaining about smaller cookies and hinting he might have to double his consumption. Most of his 626,000 followers may not have imagined that even the legendary Monster might need to procure his cookies just like every regular American, seemingly having an eternal supply at his grasp.
Following his regular duties combating resurgent Donald Trump, and drafting his State of the Union address, President Biden took time out to respond. “Well, one who took notice was the Cookie Monster”, the president announced. “He highlighted shrinking cookies and maintaining the same price. I was taken unawares when I got wind of this being the reality.”
While casual followers would be excused for considering the president’s diet, handling ascending customer spending has always been a stipulation in Biden’s manifesto during his presidential tenure. The Shrinkflation Prevention Act was designed to fortify the Federal Trade Commission’s leverage to challenge companies participating in this act. In addition, high consumer costs play a role in the ongoing challenges he faces in opinion polls.
A recent profile of Biden, penned by Evan Osnos and notably featured in the most recent edition of The New Yorker magazine, brought up a significant issue. Advocates and veterans loudly praise the US’s economic recovery under Biden’s administration, describing it as a miracle and dubbing it “the recession that never happened.” As cited in the article, Roger Altman, a former cabinet member of the Clinton administration, emphasises how shocking the economic data is. He underscores that Biden should repeatedly emphasise reducing prices for the public, highlighting the growing concern over rising grocery costs.
On a macroeconomic scale, it’s clear America’s economy is flourishing. Nonetheless, many households are struggling to keep up with increasing costs, particularly with food and energy prices, which have surged by a quarter in recent years. To alleviate these issues, the Biden administration has introduced various consumer protection measures. These range from tackling predatory practices in the credit card and air miles sector to eliminating close to $20 billion (£14.5 billion) in unnecessary fees. They’ve also approved a staggering $138 billion (£100 billion) worth of student debt forgiveness benefiting nearly four million US citizens. This is a significant leap from the meagre 7,000 individuals who benefitted from debt forgiveness before Biden’s term.
Yet, the pertinent question remains – will Biden manage to successfully convey to millions that the economy is of paramount importance ahead of the forthcoming election? As Ronny Chieng, a Malaysian comedian and guest on The Daily Show, jokingly pointed out amidst the shrinking product size uproar, celery hasn’t been affected. And perhaps, as Chieng suggests, that should be Biden’s antidote to a hard day of leading the nation and fighting for democracy — a refreshing, crunchy stick of celery.