Yes, we know about shrinkage.

Thanks to Gerard Baker, editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, we have a name for it: nonfunctional slack fill.

You know how that package of toilet paper looks exactly the way it did many years ago, except now it only lasts for a few days? We all know that we’re getting a bad deal because we’re paying a little more for products but we’re getting a lot less content. If the old packaging on these products were changed it would probably cost companies millions of dollars and they would pass the additional cost on to the consumer. If packages were filled to capacity the price would need to skyrocket and consumers would scream about inflation. So they pretend everything is kosher and on the up-and-up by filling the old packaging half way up. Now you open that giant bag of potato chips and peer all the way down to the bottom to find those crispy little devils. We understand people who shop at Costco and buy the condo-sized cans and bottles that look like they can feed Coxey’s Army but what do you do when you’re a single consumer? We’ve got a solution. Dear Companies, We know your dirty little secret – that’s right. You are practicing a very deceptive non-functional slack fill on us. And we don’t like it. We suggest you slap a warning label on your containers saying, “Same great product, now 1/2 less of it” or “Contents may be hazardous to your wallet.”

Yes, we know about shrinkage. Is it any wonder that the Consumer Price Index does NOT include energy or food? What inflation?