Everything is smaller. A box of honey nut cheerio's that I used to by for $3 is now 1/3 the size. A box used to last me two weeks easy, now 4, maybe 5 days tops.
It was the perfect scam. They shrunk a couple things here and there at a time and not many people thought a lot about it.
“See? Obama’s economy worked! prices didn’t rise like everyone said they would!!!”
Of course not. They shrunk the package, kept the price the same or slightly raised it and everything was just fine! People now buy more as in your cereal example to have what they had before, spending considerably more in the long term and poof! everything is just fine!
No massive outcry since so many people either never notice or say ‘Well thats just how it is now...”