Current:Home > StocksThe Daily Money: Lawmakers target shrinkflation -Wealth Harmony Labs
The Daily Money: Lawmakers target shrinkflation
View
Date:2025-04-17 14:51:07
Good morning! It’s Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.
Two members of Congress are calling out Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Mills over shrinkflation – reducing the size of their products, but not the prices – and allegedly price-gouging consumers while avoiding corporate taxes.
In letters dated Oct. 6 and sent to the CEOs of those three companies, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., wrote they were concerned about the "pattern of profiteering off consumers, both through 'shrinkflation,' and dodging taxes on those price-gouging profits."
The congresswomen cited several examples, including PepsiCo's replacement of 32-ounce Gatorade bottles with 28-ounce bottles, sporting a different shape but offered at essentially the same price.
Health insurance rates are rising
Escalating grocery bills and car prices have cooled, but price relief for Americans does not extend to health care, Ken Alltucker reports.
The average cost for a family health insurance plan offered through an employer increased 7% this year to $25,572, according to the annual employer health benefits survey released Wednesday by KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization. Insurance costs for individuals bumped up 6% to $8,951 this year, according to the survey.
Why are rates rising?
📰 More stories you shouldn't miss 📰
- Trump stock rises again
- Disneyland raises prices
- Holiday shopping has commenced
- Fraud protection differs for credit, debit cards
- Are your Medicare benefits changing?
📰 A great read 📰
Finally, here's a popular story from earlier this year that you may have missed. Read it! Share it!
For the first time ever, Gen X workers saw their 401(k) balances top those of baby boomers, Fidelity data showed.
Balances for Gen X workers who have been saving for 15 years averaged $543,400, or $200 more than the average for boomers, according to the financial service firm’s analysis of its more than 22 million accounts in the first three months of the year. The report was released this summer. Gen X, born between 1965 and 1980, is the next generation to retire behind the boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964 and are retiring now.
Gen X is often referred to as the forgotten generation, sandwiched between the large and culturally powerful boomer and millennial cohorts. It’s also the first generation to start working as 401(k)s replaced pension plans. Surveys have shown many of them don’t have nearly enough for retirement, but Fidelity’s report shows promise.
About The Daily Money
Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.
Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.
veryGood! (71)
Related
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- How to Make Your NFL Outfit Stadium Suite-Worthy: Makeup, Nails, and Jewelry
- Takeaways from AP’s story on the role of the West in widespread fraud with South Korean adoptions
- Check Up on ER 30 Years Later With These Shocking Secrets
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Don't fall for this: The fake QR code scam that aims to take your money at parking meters
- Justin Theroux Reveals How He and Fiancée Nicole Brydon Bloom First Met
- Jeopardy! Contestant Father Steve Jakubowski Is the Internet’s New “Hot Priest”
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- GM recalling more than 449,000 SUVs, pickups due to issue with low brake fluid warning light
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Highway crash injures 8 Southern California firefighters
- Voters split on whether Harris or Trump would do a better job on the economy: AP-NORC poll
- ‘Grim Outlook’ for Thwaites Glacier
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Chris Pine Confirms New Romance During Vacation in Italy
- Kyle Okposo announces retirement after winning Stanley Cup with Florida Panthers
- Yankee Candle Doorbuster Sale: Save 40% on Almost Everything — Candles, ScentPlug, Holiday Gifts & More
Recommendation
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Justice Department opens civil rights probe into sheriff’s office after torture of 2 Black men
WNBA playoffs bracket: Final standings, seeds, matchups, first round schedule
Hunter Boots are 50% off at Nordstrom Rack -- Get Trendy Styles for Under $100
Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
Wisconsin officials ask state Supreme Court to decide if RFK Jr. stays on ballot
Why JoJo Felt Insecure About Her Body While Filming Aquamarine
Prosecutors decline to charge a man who killed his neighbor during a deadly dispute in Hawaii