• BlackbeardM
    link
    fedilink
    English
    8
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    What are you suggesting he do about it?

    edit for the knee-jerk downvoters: Everything the government is authorized to do is codified in federal statute, including agency powers. If Congress doesn’t give an agency the power to regulate the size and shape of a peanut butter cup, the agency cannot regulate the size and shape of a peanut butter cup, full stop. The reason the President isn’t proposing a fix to this is that Congress hasn’t given anyone the authority to fix this problem. The FDA can sorta kinda regulate slack fill (i.e. the empty space in your bag of chips) but only if it’s non-functional or deceptive. Shrinkflation is quite legal, so long as the size/weight of the product is clearly labeled. If companies get away with it, that’s because we’re stupid, clueless consumers who never read labels. And they will continue to do it until a) we stop buying their product, or b) Congress passes a law to make it illegal. Unless that happens, we’re stuck with it because the President is not an all powerful god who can will things into existence.

    Once again, civic literacy in this county proves profoundly lacking.

    • @Fisk400@feddit.nu
      link
      fedilink
      195 months ago

      Make it expensive to change the weight of a product. Standardize the size and weight of a given type of product. Require the packaging to alert consumers that the weight have changed in the last year and how much it has changed. Tie the trademark of a given product to a certain weight.

      Are these good ideas? I don’t know, I literally made them up just now while shitting. I am sure the president of the United States could hire at least one dude to come up with better ones.

      • BlackbeardM
        link
        fedilink
        English
        14
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        Make it expensive to change the weight of a product.

        The President literally can’t do that.

        Standardize the size and weight of a given type of product.

        The President can’t do that. Not sure the FDA can even do that, as just about all they can weigh in on is product safety (i.e. “does not contain more than X of any harmful substance”) and categorical definitions (i.e. “ice cream must meet this definition”). They can’t say, “all M&Ms must be this big and weigh this much”.

        Require the packaging to alert consumers that the weight have changed in the last year and how much it has changed.

        Neither the President nor the FDA can do that. The FDA doesn’t have the regulatory power to do anything even close to that.

        Tie the trademark of a given product to a certain weight.

        That’s…not how trademarks work, at all.

        Look man, it’s as frustrating to me as it is to anyone, but y’all can’t just make up a bunch of fanciful, largely illegal remedies to the problem and then lay the blame for their impossibility on the President’s desk. That’s just ridiculous.

        • @Fisk400@feddit.nu
          link
          fedilink
          -95 months ago

          I understand that you are very into the position of going face down ass up for corporations but can I interest you in the idea that politicians are allowed to express things they would like to work towards even if they are personally not able to make it happen the second they say it.

          Biden is a very powerful man that employs a large number of very smart people. If he wants to he can put together an action plan on how to make things happen.

          • BlackbeardM
            link
            fedilink
            English
            05 months ago

            I understand that you are very into the position of going face down ass up for corporations

            You know that point when people stop taking you seriously? That’s right here.

            can I interest you in the idea that politicians are allowed to express things they would like to work towards even if they are personally not able to make it happen the second they say it.

            So this is just a circle jerk about imaginary fantasy lands? Good to know we’re just aimlessly flailing now.

            Biden is a very powerful man that employs a large number of very smart people. If he wants to he can put together an action plan on how to make things happen.

            He is not a dictator, nor a god. We have a system of very rigorous checks and balances, and it’s abundantly clear that you have no earthly idea how our government actually functions. Just because you can put together an action plan, doesn’t mean what the plan calls for is actually legal or achievable.

      • Flying Squid
        link
        fedilink
        85 months ago

        All great ideas if it weren’t for the fact that we have a court system heavily weighted towards pro-corporate conservatism, so none of that would survive legal challenges and there would be a shit ton of corporate challenges.

        • @Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
          link
          fedilink
          1
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Food in general doesn’t even go through the FDA, does it? They only get involved if there’s a problem. If it was pre approval, it would be a super slow process likely.

          Edit: my train of thought was if it needed approval, any size changes would go to a slow line, but in reality, any small company would go to slow lines also, which would truly suck.

    • @ZeroCool@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      05 months ago

      What are you suggesting he do about it?

      Oh don’t expect an answer from that OP. They’re here to blame Biden. It doesn’t matter if there’s anything he can actually do about the issue.