Government Price-Fixing

jim.com ^ | 1979 | Henry Hazlitt

[arthurus]

At the time of writing, when practically every country is inflating, though most of them are at peace, price controls are always hinted at, even when they are not imposed. Though they are always economically harmful, if not destructive, they have at least a political advantage from the standpoint of the officeholders.By implication they put the blame for higher prices on the greed and rapacity of businessmen, instead of on the inflationary monetary policies of the officeholders themselves.

Let us first see what happens when the government tries to keep the price of a single commodity, or a small group of commodities, below the price that would be set in a free competitive market.

When the government tries to fix maximum prices for only a few items, it usually chooses certain basic necessities, on the ground that it is most essential that the poor be able to obtain these at a “reasonable” cost. Let us say that the items chosen for this purpose are bread, milk and meat.

[EGPWS]

price controls are always hinted at,...

Well, Nixon got his price fixing so we now have to put up with "rebates", yes Nixon caused it with fair trade tinkering by government, so NOW what is it going to be to counter price controls at a federal level?