Smaller shopping carts

Over the past three years, the Federal Reserve has tried everything to reduce inflation. Yet, it remains stubbornly high. Prices for everything from food to gas and rent are causing a malaise of economic discontent.

An exasperated Biden must be pulling out his white hair— well, what little remains of it. He might be forgiven for trying to trick voters the way companies trick consumers: by putting less of everything in the same packaging.

In this case, inflation has shoppers putting fewer groceries in their carts. So, Biden could sign an executive order for stores to reduce the size of shopping carts. This would make them look full, even with fewer groceries.

Of course, some of you will appreciate that Biden would just be doing what Whole Foods has been doing for years to disguise price gouging. That’s because there’s a psychological association between putting expensive groceries in smaller carts. Why do you think the shopping carts at Walmart and Costco are so huge?

Stubborn high inflation

Biden’s policies have led to the best economy in generations. Moreover, the Biden economy has significantly outperformed the Trump economy based on every objective metric, including GDP, unemployment, and even the stock market.  

Yet, stubborn high inflation has people reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ under Trump. In reality, things were much worse.

Mind you, Biden has called out big retailers for effectively colluding to gouge American shoppers. And, sure enough, Target, Walmart, and McDonald’s are suddenly leading retailers in promising steep cuts in prices. The problem is that, even with those price cuts, rosy nostalgia will still have voters thinking prices are too damn high.

Smaller shopping carts are just a funny metaphor for Biden’s economic predicament. But they’re also a stark reminder that, in politics, perception often trumps reality.