“S” is for “Shrinkflation”: Cookie Monster draws right-wing anger for taking a bite out of corporate greed

Earlier this week, right-wing media returned to their time honored tradition of publicly freaking out about the beloved educational program Sesame Street, charging that the Biden administration is using the comical over-eater Cookie Monster as part of a woke political agenda to attack innocent corporations — or even more bizarrely, that perhaps President Joe Biden is only responding to inflation in general, and a specific phenomenon known as “shrinkflation,” because of a public protest by the furry puppet character.

The latest iteration of conservatives’ bizarre anti-Sesame Street fixation seemingly began on March 4, when the official X account for everyone’s favorite gluttonous children’s character tweeted a complaint, “Me hate shrinkflation! Me cookies are getting smaller,” then followed up over an hour later, “Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!” (Perhaps the lovable monster subscribes to his local newspaper, The New York Times, which just published a feature on “shrinkflation” on March 1.)

The White House’s own official account then responded later in the afternoon:

Then, at a White House event on March 5 about fighting corporate price gouging — another topic that has right-wing media attacking the president — Biden further chimed in on shrinking product sizes: “I’ll tell you what — I’ll tell you who did notice: the Cookie Monster. He pointed out cookies are — his cookies are getting smaller. He’s paying the same price. I was stunned when I found out that’s what actually happened.” The president also announced the launch of “a new Strike Force” targeting “Unfair and Illegal Pricing to crack down on companies who break the law while keeping prices high for American consumers.”

Yes, Cookie Monster, big companies are price-gouging

The aforementioned New York Times article on “shrinkflation” found that companies are still reducing package sizes despite inflation having cooled off: “After peaking at 9.1 percent in July 2022, it had eased to 3.1 percent as of January. And consumers might be less willing to accept shrinkflation now that firms are facing less severe cost pressures, especially because food company profits have been — and in many cases remain — high. They may simply feel ripped off.”

“Shrinkflation” is really one aspect of the overall inflation problem — and multiple analyses have found that “greedflation” was an exacerbating factor in inflation these past few years. Following supply chain disruptions as the global economy recovered from the pandemic and an increase in oil prices in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, companies took advantage of the public’s economic alarm to justify further price increases beyond just the increased costs of production.

A study last year by two progressive think tanks in Britain, reported in Fortune, found that corporate profits increased at a faster rate than costs did. Another study reported in Fortune, from the American think tank Groundwork Collaborative, found that profits drove 53% of inflation during the second and third quarters of 2023, and more than one-third overall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and caused inflation to be 1 to 3 points higher than otherwise might’ve occurred.

Bloomberg recently reported on an analysis by Goldman Sachs finding that companies are quick to raise prices in the face of increased costs, but then slow to actually lower them again once their own costs go back down. An article in The Wall Street Journal in May 2023 actually made the argument for bilking consumers: “‘Greedflation’ Is Real — and Probably Good for the Economy.”

Conservatives breathlessly warn of conspiracy between Biden and Sesame Street to serve his “political agenda”

Right-wingers regularly attack Sesame Street, because they don’t get the whole point of the show

While right-wing media sees a political conspiracy in the Cookie Monster account’s latest pronouncements on current events, The Washington Post pointed out that the account previously “has appeared to post about Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, has spoken about therapy and has endorsed self-care,” while another recent post from the character Elmo’s account inadvertently started a public dialogue about mental health.

But even deeper than that, the show has always been dedicated to teaching children (and maybe some parents, too) how to get along in a diverse world. “Since 1969, children and adults alike have flocked to the place where multiethnic, multigenerational, and even multispecies residents coexist in harmony,” says a PBS site explaining what the show is all about. “The people on this very special street learn life's lessons together, provide viewers with strong role models, and teach children that everyone brings a special ability to the community. Here, children learn to use their imaginations, build social skills, and respect people's differences.”

All of which is to say, right-wing media has been attacking this cultural treasure of a program for many years.

“S” is for “Shrinkflation”: Cookie Monster draws right-wing anger for taking a bite out of corporate greed

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