Have you noticed that the sizes of the sandwiches sold in fast food joints have gotten smaller recently? For example, although the size of the bun on Burger King’s “Whopper” hamburger still lives up to its name, the beef patty has shrunk until it’s little more than a caricature of what it once was. And Wendys is even worse. They have not only shrunk the size of their chicken patties, but the buns as well.
Of course smaller portions aren’t neccessarily bad given the way the typical American wasteline has gotten larger in recent years (mine included), but one would think that smaller meals would command lower prices. Such is not the case however.
Even as the sizes of fast food meals were being reduced, their prices were growing much faster than the rate of inflation. What this means of course is that we consumers are getting less product for more money, and in a period of extremely low inflation that simply makes no sense. But in today’s world few things do.