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Sen. Tim Scott says Congress is close to a police reform deal

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Last summer, in the wake of protests surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others at the hands of police, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said he was pessimistic about the chances of the Senate passing a police reform bill.
Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate and one of just three Black Republicans in all of Congress, is the lead Republican in the Senate on police reform and was responsible for drafting the Justice Act, the GOP’s police reform bill. The bill failed to get 60 votes, the necessary Senate margin, in 2020, with the majority of Democrats voting against it for inadequately handling the problem. Meanwhile, Democrats’ bill, the more expansive George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, passed the House but was not taken up by the then-Republican Senate.
In February, the House <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/3/22295856/george-floyd-justice-in-policing-act-2021-passed-house">again passed</a> the Democrats’ bill. Now in control of the Senate floor, Democrats could force a vote — but they still need 10 Republican votes to pass the bill, and the legislation, as it stands, received zero Republican votes in the House. This time around, Scott says negotiations to merge the Democrats’ bill with his Justice Act have been productive, leaving him “hopeful” that a deal will emerge.
“This time, my friends on the left aren’t looking for the issue,” Scott said on <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tim-scott-says-significant-numbers-of-republicans-willing-to-support-police-reform/#x">CBS’s “Face The Nation”</a> Sunday. “They’re looking for a solution. And the things that I offered last year are more popular this year. That gives me reasons to be hopeful.”
Scott noted that the provisions both bills have in common are the foundation for compromise legislation — federal funding incentives for departments that ban chokeholds, more grants for body cameras, federally criminalizing lynching, and creating a use-of-force database in the Justice Department in order to document and study how police officers use force.
But, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/22388199/george-floyd-police-reform-bill-senate-explained">Vox’s Li Zhou explained</a>, the Democrats’ bill goes a lot further. Democrats included a federal ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants, a national database for police misconduct in order to minimize the transfer of officers with bad records, prohibiting the distribution of some military weaponry to local police departments, and expanding the DOJ’s power to bring charges against departments.
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tim-scott-says-significant-numbers-of-republicans-willing-to-support-police-reform/#x">Scott said</a> on “Face the Nation” that some of those differences have already been addressed.
“Through negotiations and conversations, we are now closer on no-knock warrants, and chokeholds, and something called section 1033 that has to do with getting government equipment from the military for local police,” he said. “I think we’re making progress there, too. We have literally been able to bring these two bills very close together.”
The issue of qualified immunity has been a sticking point in negotiations.
Qualified immunity refers to legal protections for police officers that make it difficult to sue them for wrongdoing, and makes civil suits against them likely to fail, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/3/21277104/end-qualified-immunity-police-definition-george-floyd">Vox’s Ian Millhiser has detailed</a>.
Last year, Scott called the weakening of qualified immunity a “poison pill,” but this year, he has a new compromise.
Instead of weakening qualified immunity for individual officers, Scott has proposed allowing civil suits to be brought against departments.
“How do we change the culture of policing?” Scott said on Sunday. “I think we do that by making the employer responsible for the actions of the employee. We do that with doctors. We do that with lawyers. We do that in most all of our industries. If we do that in law enforcement, the employer will change the culture. As opposed to having one officer change or not change, we’ll have all officers transforming because the departments are taking on more of that burden.”
Scott added that his proposal went over well with the family members of victims of police brutality he met with last week.
As Vox’s Li Zhou explains, the qualified immunity compromise could have political merit.
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Last year, Democrats blocked Scott’s bill from passing — a sign of how limited they considered it — and this year, there will need to be substantial changes to both measures in order for either piece of legislation to get the bipartisan backing it requires to advance.
Scott’s proposal around qualified immunity could be a start to securing that support, though it would require both Democrats and a number of Republicans to get on board to actually be tenable.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), a member of the Judiciary Committee, signaled some openness to it, noting that it was “worth considering, but it’s going to depend on exactly how it’s done.”
“That may be a reasonable idea for compromise,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) also told Vox, adding that he still needed to study the idea. “That’s an interesting approach. It just shows Tim Scott really does want to make progress on police reform.”
</blockquote>
If Democrats decide Scott’s compromise legislation is the most substantial bill they’re going to get, then the problem of acquiring 10 Republican votes still remains. Some Republicans, such as Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) <a href="https://www.vox.com/22388199/george-floyd-police-reform-bill-senate-explained">told Vox’s Li Zhou</a> that qualified immunity reform is a non-starter.
And of course, more progressive Democrats might be opposed to compromise legislation on grounds of it being inadequate. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/25/politics/qualified-immunity-police-reform-bill-bush-capito-cnntv/index.html">told CNN</a> she would vote against Scott’s qualified immunity proposal, saying it was not a provision she would be willing to compromise on.
Still, lead Democratic negotiators, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/25/politics/qualified-immunity-police-reform-bill-bush-capito-cnntv/index.html">Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) in the House</a>, said they are willing to negotiate so long as the qualified immunity provision maintains its purpose — accountability for officers.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who is in charge of Democratic police reform talks in the Senate, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/551026-police-reform-talks-ramp-up-amid-pressure-from-biden-families">told reporters</a> he was “really encouraged” by the state of negotiations and that he felt they had momentum. And President Joe Biden put pressure on lawmakers to follow through in his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/politics/joe-biden-speech-transcript.html">speech Wednesday night</a>, asking senators to reach a compromise by the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, May 25.
On the Republican side, Scott believes that for enough senators in his party, where he leads, they will follow.
“Significant numbers in my party have already said to me, we will go where you go on this issue, as long as I can explain my position,” Scott said Sunday. “And we’re going to do that.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22416155/tim-scott-optimistic-police-reform-senate">https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22416155/tim-scott-optimistic-police-reform-senate</a>

vox Sen. Tim Scott says Congress is close to a police reform deal

Last summer, in the wake of protests surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others at the hands of police, Sen. Tim Sc...

Republicans and Democrats agree we need an infrastructure bill. That’s about all they agree on.

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Infrastructure has long been held up in Washington as one of a dwindling few issues on which there can be bipartisan agreement. As Congress gets to work on negotiating an infrastructure bill and President Joe Biden touts his American Jobs Plan, Republican senators emphasized the potential for a bipartisan deal on Sunday.
Of course, they differed with Biden and Democrats over the scope of what should be included in the bill and how to pay for it.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), a moderate Republican and part of the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/02/barrasso-cassidy-biden-infrastructure-deal-485198">Gang of 10</a>, said members of both parties have been meeting frequently, and that he believes a bipartisan agreement can be reached. The Gang of 10 are Republicans who worked with Democrats on the Covid-19 relief bill, though no compromise was reached, and whose votes are necessary in order to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster.
“There’s a way forward here, if the White House is willing to work with us,” he <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/yellen-insists-u-s-will-see-big-returns-passing-biden-n1266075">told Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press”</a>.
Portman said he disagreed with raising the corporate tax rate — a key part of the Biden plan to pay for the infrastructure bill — and criticized the size of Biden’s plan, saying only about 20 percent of the proposed new spending went to traditional infrastructure spending and could be afforded through the mechanisms he favors. Instead of raising the corporate tax rate, Portman proposed public-private partnerships, user fees such as the gas tax, and repurposing state and local funding from the Covid-19 relief package for infrastructure.
And therein lies the issue — Republicans portray Biden and Democrats as negotiating in bad faith if they refuse to abandon central components of the plan, including raising corporate taxes and expanding federal investment in green job creation and health care. (For more details on Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/31/22357179/biden-two-trillion-infrastructure-jobs-plan-explained">read Vox’s Ella Nilsen’s explainer</a>.)
Across the Sunday shows, Republican Sens. John Barrasso, Bill Cassidy, and Susan Collins all emphasized that any bipartisan deal can only focus on the roads and bridges that make up a typical surface transportation reauthorization bill. They say the price tag, and any tax increase, are non-starters.
Speaking to Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-21-jake-sullivan-sen-john-barrasso/story?id=77442272">This Week</a>,” Barrasso said Republicans’ counteroffer — <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/4/22/22397517/republican-infrastructure-plan-biden">a $568 billion plan</a> from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), which is about a quarter of what Democrats want to spend — can be a reasonable starting point for negotiations. But for all of the talk of bipartisanship, his assessment of Biden’s plan was largely negative.
“It’s the trillions and trillions of dollars of reckless spending,” Barrasso said, continuing:
<blockquote>
When I look at this, this is a staggering amount of spending, like someone with a new credit card. And these are for things that we don’t necessarily need, we certainly can’t afford, but they’re going to delight the liberal left of the party ... It’s almost creating an addiction to spending.
</blockquote>
Collins, another key moderate, also painted the infrastructure negotiations as an ultimatum for Biden while disagreeing with core parts of his plan, including <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/551364-sen-susan-collins-wont-support-28-percent-corporate-tax-rate">raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent</a>.
She <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/551364-sen-susan-collins-wont-support-28-percent-corporate-tax-rate">did not offer an alternative</a> for how to pay for the infrastructure bill.
“This is going to be a test for Joe Biden. The Joe Biden that I knew in the Senate was always interested in negotiation,” Collins said. “This is going to be a test on whether President Biden is truly interested in bipartisanship. If he is, we can get there on the core infrastructure package. And by that, it means roads, bridges, highways, rail, waterways, and of course, broadband.”
On the Democratic side, White House chief of staff Ron Klain doubled down on an emerging idea within the Biden White House — that bipartisanship means support of the majority of Americans, not Republicans in Congress.
By that measure, Biden’s plan is bipartisan. A <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/infrastructure-plan-opinion-poll/">CBS News/YouGov poll</a> from late April found that 58 percent of people surveyed approved of the infrastructure plan, A <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2021/04/07/infrastructure-corporate-tax-hikes-polling/">Politico/Morning Consult poll</a> from early April found that 65 percent of voters, including 42 percent of Republicans, support raising the corporate tax rate to fund Biden’s infrastructure plan.
“The proposals the president’s put forward have broad support,” <a href="https://twitter.com/FaceTheNation/status/1388869964065558531?s=20">Klain said</a> on CBS News’ “Face The Nation.” “They have broad support in the country. They have support from Republican governors, Republican mayors. I think what we’ll have to see is whether or not Republicans in Washington join the rest of America in broadly supporting these common sense ideas.”
Other key Democrats, including Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), went on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/yellen-insists-u-s-will-see-big-returns-passing-biden-n1266075">NBC’s “Meet the Press”</a> to praise the bill, including its inclusion of “soft infrastructure” like research and development, and its funding mechanisms. Yellen committed to ensuring the bill is paid for, highlighting the administration’s proposals to raise taxes on those earning over $400,000 and on corporations.
Doing so would necessitate removing some of the tax breaks based in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — a Republican bill passed without the support of a single Democrat.
Of course, Democrats could take the same approach Republicans did in 2017, and that they used to pass their <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/3/10/22320350/biden-sign-stimulus-bill-covid-19">March Covid-19 relief bill</a> — budget reconciliation, a process in which a filibuster can be bypassed in the Senate for bills that are budgetary in nature. If — and it’s a big if — Democrats can stick together on the final version of Biden’s plan, they do not actually need Republican support, for all of the bluster around bipartisanship.
As Vox’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/22361959/biden-infrastructure-jobs-plan-congress">Ella Nilsen explains</a>, Democrats could pass their entire package — potentially both infrastructure and Biden’s child care and health care bill, through budget reconciliation for the 2022 fiscal year. They could pass multiple budget reconciliation bills this year, breaking up their packages into parts, if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is successful in lobbying the Senate parliamentarian to invoke an arcane rule that allows for up to three reconciliation attempts per year. Or, they could pass a bipartisan bill with Republican support on the parts of infrastructure they agree on, and then use budget reconciliation to pass the elements that Republicans are not on board with.
Although Biden, as Senate Republicans are quick to note, was a famed compromiser while in the Senate, his speeches as president often make references to President Franklin Roosevelt — known for big government rather than bipartisanship. If Biden is taking his election as a mandate to expand government, in the vein of his preferred predecessor, then including Republicans in his plans is less important than getting them passed in the first place.
“In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt reminded us, in America, we do our part,” Biden <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/us/politics/joe-biden-speech-transcript.html">said in his speech Wednesday night</a>, in which he made direct appeals to Senate Republicans. “We all do our part. That’s all I’m asking.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22415942/biden-infrastructure-taxation-bipartisanship-portman-collins-barrasso">https://www.vox.com/2021/5/2/22415942/biden-infrastructure-taxation-bipartisanship-portman-collins-barrasso</a>

vox Republicans and Democrats agree we need an infrastructure bill. That’s about all they agree on.

Infrastructure has long been held up in Washington as one of a dwindling few issues on which there can be bipartisan agreement. As Congress...

UK In Last Lap In Fight Against Covid, Says Foreign Secretary

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"By the time we get to June 21 almost all social restrictions will be lifted," Dominic Raab said. (File)
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London:
The UK is very close to turning the corner in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic and it is important to remain careful in the last lap of the process, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday.
The senior Cabinet minister was defending the government's roadmap out of the lockdown, which is now set to ease further on May 17 when greater indoor interactions are expected to be allowed, with June 21 set as the date for a near complete end to lockdown rules.
Some groups and businesses such as restaurants have called for a quicker lifting of restrictions.
"I know that people are hankering to go a bit faster but actually we feel vindicated at taking steady steps out of the lockdown is the smart way to go," Mr Raab told Sky News.
"We're very close now to really turning the corner and I think we still need to be careful to go as I said we don't want to see the gains lost and the sacrifices that have been made undone. By the time we get to June 21 almost all social restrictions will be lifted, so there's only a little bit more time to go but it's right we do that in a careful way," the minister said.
"I do think we just need to make sure that in the last lap, if you like, that we are careful and we don't lose the gains we've made," he said.
The minister also indicated that the government is looking at certain social distancing and other safeguards that would still be needed after June 21.
"We want to get to a position, at the end of June, where we can get life back as close to normal as possible, but they'll still need to be some safeguards in place," he said.
According to some plans in the works, daily lateral flow tests could be used as an alternative to isolation for those who have been in contact with someone who tests positive for the coronavirus.
Currently, these people must quarantine for 10 days but a trial in England will see daily lateral flow tests given to as many as 40,000 people. Participants in the trial will be sent a week's worth of tests and will be able to go about normal life as long as their daily results are negative.
The trial could provide evidence that would reduce the length of time contacts of positive cases need to isolate.
"This new pilot could help shift the dial in our favour by offering a viable alternative to self-isolation for people who are contacts of positive COVID-19 cases, and one that would allow people to carry on going to work and living their lives," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The trial will begin on May 9 and close contacts of people with COVID-19 will be contacted by phone and sent seven days of the tests if they decide to participate in the study.They will have to test themselves every morning for seven days and, as long as they test negative and do not have symptoms, they will be exempt from the home isolation rule.
"This study will help to determine whether we can deploy daily testing for contacts to potentially reduce the need for self-isolation, while still ensuring that chains of transmission are stopped," said Professor Isabel Oliver, who is leading the study as Public Health England's national infection service director.
"Contacts of cases are at higher risk of infection so testing them is a very effective way of preventing further spread," the Professor said.
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times reported that health officials are drawing up plans to offer the Pfizer vaccine to secondary school pupils from September.
A document seen by the newspaper said children over the age of 12 could be offered a single dose when the new school year begins.
The move will depend on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has so far focussed on advice only for adults aged 18 and over. The government target is to cover all over-18s with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July-end.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/uk-in-last-lap-in-fight-against-covid-says-foreign-secretary-dominic-raab-2426537">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/uk-in-last-lap-in-fight-against-covid-says-foreign-secretary-dominic-raab-2426537</a>

news world UK In Last Lap In Fight Against Covid, Says Foreign Secretary

"By the time we get to June 21 almost all social restrictions will be lifted," Dominic Raab said. (File) London: The UK is ve...

Myanmar Protests Aim To "Shake The World", 7 Killed: Report

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The protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes have crippled the economy.
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Myanmar security forces opened fire on some of the biggest protests against military rule in days on Sunday killing seven people, media reported, three months after a coup plunged the country into crisis.
The protests, after a spell of dwindling crowds and what appeared to be more restraint by the security forces, were coordinated with demonstrations in Myanmar communities around the world to mark what organisers called "the global Myanmar spring revolution".
"Shake the world with the voice of Myanmar people's unity," the organisers said in a statement.
Streams of demonstrators, some led by Buddhist monks, made their way through cities and towns across the country, including the commercial hub of Yangon and the second city of Mandalay, where two people were shot and killed, the Mizzima news agency reported.
The Irrawaddy news site earlier posted a photograph of a man it said was a security officer in plain clothes taking aim with a rifle in Mandalay.
Two people were killed in the central town of Wetlet, the Myanmar Now news agency said, and two were killed in different towns in Shan State in the northeast, two media outlets reported. One person was also killed in the northern jade-mining town of Hpakant, the Kachin News Group reported.
Reuters could not verify the reports and a spokesman for the ruling junta did not answer calls seeking comment.
The protests are only one of the problems the generals have brought on with their Feb. 1 ouster of the elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Wars with ethnic minority insurgents in remote frontier regions in the north and east have intensified significantly since the coup, displacing tens of thousands of civilians, according to United Nations estimates.
In some places civilians with crude weapons have battled security forces, while in central areas military and government facilities that have been secure for generations have been hit by rocket attacks and a wave of small, unexplained blasts.
There have been no claims of responsibility for the explosions.
"HANDMADE BOMBS"
Khit Thit media reported a blast outside a police barracks in Yangon early on Sunday. Vehicles were ablaze it said, but it gave no information on any casualties.
Later, it reported another blast in the city. A news portal in Shan State reported a blast outside the home of a prominent businessman.
The state-run broadcaster in its main evening news bulletin on Saturday gave details of at least 11 explosions over the previous 36 hours, mostly in Yangon. It reported some damage but no casualties.
"Some rioters who do not want stability of the state have been throwing and planting handmade bombs at government buildings and on public roads," the broadcaster said.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group says security forces have killed at least 759 protesters since the coup. Reuters is unable to confirm the toll.
The military, which ruled for almost 50 years until launching a tentative reform process a decade ago, acknowledged in mid-April the death of 248 protesters, saying they were killed after they initiated violence.
The protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes have crippled the economy and raised the prospect of 25 million people sliding into poverty, the U.N. Development Programme has warned.
The military said it had to seize power because its complaints of fraud in a November election won by Suu Kyi's party were not addressed by an election commission that deemed the vote fair.
Suu Kyi, 75, has been detained since the coup along with many other members of her party.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/myanmar-protests-aim-to-shake-the-world-7-killed-report-2426500">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/myanmar-protests-aim-to-shake-the-world-7-killed-report-2426500</a>

news world Myanmar Protests Aim To "Shake The World", 7 Killed: Report

The protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes have crippled the economy. Myanmar security forces opened fire on some of the ...

Cindy McCain Calls Arizona Election Audit “Ludicrous”

Cindy McCain on Sunday blasted the ongoing Arizona election audit as “ludicrous.”
McCain, the widow of late Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a prominent RINO Republican, joined CNN’s “State of the Union” to complain about the audit pushed by Arizona Republicans.
“Listen, this whole thing is ludicrous, quite frankly. It’s ludicrous. And this also comes from a state party in Arizona that refused to be audited themselves on votes that were cast within their own party communications,” Cindy McCain told host Jake Tapper.
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“The election is over. [President] Biden won,” she added. “I know many of them don’t like the outcome, but, you know, elections have consequences. And so…this does not surprise me, you know, that things are just aloof and crazy out there right now with regards to the election.”
McCain, a RINO like her late husband, has been <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/arizona-republicans-censure-cindy-mccain-gop-governor-n1255446">at odds with the Arizona GOP after they censured her</a> for endorsing Biden in the 2020 election and supporting “leftist causes” and “globalist policies.”
The Arizona-Senate ordered recount of nearly 2.1 million Maricopa County general election ballots is ongoing and could last weeks.
President Trump weighed in on the audit on Friday, warning that other “rigged” states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin could follow suit.
“Let’s see what they find. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found thousands and thousands and thousands of votes, so we’re going to watch that very closely,” Trump said to a crowd at Mar-a-Lago on Friday.
<div class="P0A0dkNU"><a href="https://www.infowarsstore.com/bodease?ims=sjicg&utm_campaign=BodeaseHero50&utm_source=Infowars+Hero&utm_medium=Banner&utm_content=BodeaseHero50Hero" target="_blank"><img src="https://api.directus.libertycdn.com/uploads/_/originals/Bodease-Hero.png" /></a></div>
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The one time leader of the free world who now lives alone in a hotel sharing buffets, common areas, and staff with strangers, yearns for attention and relevance so badly, he now stands on a patio step every night ranting to tens of people about a 6 month old election that he lost <a href="https://t.co/xIuZ7jAkZD">pic.twitter.com/xIuZ7jAkZD</a>
— Mystery Solvent (@MysterySolvent) <a href="https://twitter.com/MysterySolvent/status/1388184669821313026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“You’ll watch Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and you’re going to watch Michigan and Wisconsin, and you’re watching New Hampshire – they found a lot of votes up in New Hampshire just now – because this was a rigged election, and everybody knows it. We’re going to be watching it very closely,” he added.
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Bobby Piton, the mathematician who testified at the Arizona voter fraud hearing, joins guest host Stew Peters on The Alex Jones Show to break down what he has witnessed being a part of the <a href="https://cantcensortruth.com/watch?id=608c7735f9230306c1b09fe7">vote audit in Maricopa County, AZ</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/cindy-mccain-calls-arizona-election-audit-ludicrous">https://www.infowars.com/posts/cindy-mccain-calls-arizona-election-audit-ludicrous</a>

news Cindy McCain Calls Arizona Election Audit “Ludicrous”

Cindy McCain on Sunday blasted the ongoing Arizona election audit as “ludicrous.” McCain, the widow of late Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), a pro...

How Costco Is Masking A 14% Price Jump With Shrinkflation

The oldest trick in the retailer book is back.
We have previously written about shrinkflation – the “creative” masking of higher prices whereby retailers sell a materially lower amount of products for the ‘same’ price, covering up what is often a significant price increase on a “per unit” basis (see “<a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-24/shrinkflation-how-food-companies-implement-massive-price-hikes-without-you-ever-noti">Shrinkflation” – How Food Companies Implement Massive Price Hikes Without You Ever Noticing</a>“, “<a href="https://t.co/D2AQDquudF?amp=1">Shrinkflation Hits The UK: Toblerone Shrinks By 10%, Price Stays The Same</a>“, <a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/Shrinkflation%20Intensifies%20%E2%80%93%20Stealth%20Inflation%20As%20Thousands%20of%20Food%20Products%20Shrink%20In%20Size,%20Not%20Price">Shrinkflation Intensifies – Stealth Inflation As Thousands of Food Products Shrink In Size, Not Price</a>), and we have a feeling that in light of the recent surge in commodity costs and food prices, we will be writing about it a whole lot more in the coming weeks.
Take Costco, which as The Bear Traps report notes, is now charging the same price for paper towels but the roll has 20 fewer sheets. TBT refers to a recent post in a <a href="https://forums.redflagdeals.com/costco-paper-towels-now-20-fewer-sheets-per-roll-2461125/">Red Flag Deals </a>message board, where a member makes the following observation:
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote" readability="6">
Costco paper towels. Same price as the previous several times buying them. Now with 20 fewer sheets.
140/160= .875
</blockquote>
<figure class="wp-block-image"><img alt="" src="https://assets.zerohedge.com/s3fs-public/styles/inline_image_mobile/public/inline-images/costco%20sheets.jpg?itok=OmTIYGtA" /></figure>
The stealthy decline of 20 sheets per roll of towels from 160 to 140 for the “same price” is the functional equivalent of 14.3% inflation, and as TBT notes, “In our experience, only potato chip companies can get away with selling a half empty package.”
Of course, once companies realize they can get away with such shrinkflation – and they will because as a RFD member responds…
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote" readability="10">
I tried telling the clerk at Costco about this, and they said “who cares, it’s just 20 sheets.”
Will be the typical response.
</blockquote>
… the obvious next step will be to no longer bother with such attempts at masking double digit inflation, and to hike prices outright until there is an actual decline in supply, or as TBT predicts, “this is the precursor to real inflation next.” And sure enough, names from consumer giants from <a href="https://investor.kimberly-clark.com/news-releases/news-release-details/kimberly-clark-announces-price-increases-north-american-1">Kimberly-Clark </a>to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-30/clorox-plans-price-hike-for-glad-products-and-more-may-follow?sref=6uww027M">Clorox</a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/procter-gamble-will-raise-prices-in-september-11618916498">Procter & Gamble</a>, as well as food makers such as <a href="https://investor.hormelfoods.com/news-events/press-releases/news-details/2021/Hormel-Foods-Reports-First-Quarter-Results-And-Provides-Full-Year-Guidance/default.aspx">Hormel</a>, <a href="https://www.eatthis.com/news-peanut-butter-price-increase-2021/">JM Smucker</a>, <a href="https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2021/03/25/General-Mills-eyes-net-price-increase-as-rising-costs-squeeze-margins-but-analysts-question-execution">General Mills</a>, <a href="https://www.eatthis.com/news-peanut-butter-price-increase-2021/">Skippy </a>and <a href="https://www.delish.com/food-news/a35448954/hersheys-holiday-candy-prices-2021/">Hershey </a>are already doing just that.
But don’t worry, according to the Chairman, “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-04-29/markets-give-powell-a-break-on-inflation-it-may-be-transitory?sref=6uww027M">it’s transitory</a>.”
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Owen is joined by Infowars reporter Greg Reese to take veteran callers and discuss various topics including <a href="https://www.banned.video/watch?id=608cb63d9bf5fd0768ee04b4">vaccines and psychology</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/how-costco-is-masking-a-14-price-jump-with-shrinkflation">https://www.infowars.com/posts/how-costco-is-masking-a-14-price-jump-with-shrinkflation</a>

news How Costco Is Masking A 14% Price Jump With Shrinkflation

The oldest trick in the retailer book is back. We have previously written about shrinkflation – the “creative” masking of higher prices whe...