The Hidden Costs of Government Price Controls: Why Market Freedom Matters.
What if controlling grocery prices does more harm than good? Let’s explore the real impact.
Price control might sound like a quick fix for rising grocery costs, but it’s more like putting a bandage on a wound that requires stitches. The real cure lies in embracing market competition and reducing unnecessary government intervention.
Imagine walking into your local grocery store and finding that everything from bread to butter is suddenly more affordable—sounds like a dream, right? But what if I told you that this so-called “price control” might just be an illusion, one that could ultimately hurt both businesses and consumers?
Let’s dig deeper into why more government control isn’t the solution and how market freedom can offer a better path forward.
The Illusion of Price Control
Kamala Harris wants to essentially control grocery store prices. Is this really the best way to help consumers, or is it a step in the wrong direction?
Kamala Harris’s recent proposal to regulate grocery store prices has sparked a heated debate. On the surface, it seems like a noble effort to combat what she claims is “price gouging.” However, history tells us that government price controls often lead to unintended consequences.
Consider this: when the government sets prices, businesses lose the flexibility to respond to supply and demand changes. This might lead to shortages, lower product quality, or even black markets. Remember the 1970s gas crisis? Price controls led to long lines at gas stations, not to mention an increased frustration among consumers. The intention (allegedly) was to help people, but the reality was quite the opposite. Many people think it’s just a way to buy votes, curry favor and to get more control, and I am inclined to agree with these people.
The Power of Competition
Now, let’s flip the script. What if, instead of controlling prices, we let the market work its magic? The beauty of a free market is that it encourages competition. Businesses are motivated to lower prices, improve quality, and innovate to attract customers. When companies compete, consumers win.
Take the tech industry as an example. Decades of minimal government intervention have allowed companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft to thrive, driving down costs and pushing each other to innovate. Imagine if the government had stepped in to control prices—would we have seen the same rapid advancements?
Is it a perfect system? No. Do problems sometimes occur? Yes. But compared to what’s out there… the documented history is written—the free market (with reasonable regulation) is what works.
It’s not even up for debate… one of the reasons for American dominance in such a relatively short time is that we have a capitalistic free market society. We have way more innovations and inventions than any other country and it’s not even remotely close. People and companies create helpful pharmaceutical drugs, technology, household items, medical devices, systems and processes, etc. in part… because of the pursuit of profit. Without that, people wouldn’t work as hard as they do in the USA nor take the risks that are often required to be successful. It’s not foolproof but again… it’s proven to work and, as a whole, been helpful to society.
Everyone reading this has benefited from the American way of life and system… everyone. I know these days it’s often applauded to crap on our great nation but most of those people probably have lived their entire life in a 50 mile bubble, haven’t lived outside of our country’s borders and therefore have no idea on what is out there, have limited intelligence and/or limited life experiences and most likely a shallow thinker. Or they are just partisan hacks trying to push forward their flawed agenda. But I would be willing to bet that most of the American people who trash our country… are net takers… haven’t invested in being an American and just have that entitled hand out.
The Role of Reasonable Regulation
This isn’t to say that all regulation is bad. On the contrary, reasonable common sense fact-based regulation is necessary to prevent monopolies, price-fixing, and other forms of market manipulation. We do need to make sure there isn’t abuse in the system and to ensure that people aren’t getting hurt. The government should play a role in enforcing transparency and fairness, but it must tread carefully to avoid stifling competition and playing favorites.
One way the government can easily contribute positively, at a lower taxpayer cost and do this in a quick manner, is by conducting and publishing comparison pricing studies and other market data. This approach allows consumers to see which companies offer the best value without imposing direct control over the market. It’s a way to empower consumers with information rather than dictate prices.
Perhaps join up with a “Consumer Reports” type of an independent organization that is fair, informed and trusted… and have them do reviews where needed. Make sure they have unbiased, informed and experienced folks with great topic knowledge doing the reviewing. Use a private company to put out the information so it doesn’t look like the usual, boring, uninspired and not usable blurb that often comes out of the government. I am a staunch believer in people being more informed rather than less informed. I also think if people know that “X” company is more reasonably priced than “Y” company for the same products when comparing “apples to apples” ie. comparing a mid-level product to another mid-level product (not a premium one)… that the higher-priced product will be forced to adapt or “die.” Adapting can mean anywhere from lowering prices to improving the product and/or expanding the product offerings.
Are there other things that could and should be done? Sure, but the above is a start they could begin next week with… and should be affordable and fairly straight-forward to implement.
I am for reasonable common sense regulation, but if you let the government into your industry… their “cure” is often way worse than the “symptoms” and the “disease.” You end up having people who have no clue about your industry or your business making business decisions for you. Imagine some random government employee having your business and, therefore, your future (and employees’ future) in their hands. Do you not think that control and power wouldn’t go to their heads? This introduces a whole other level of corruption and influence peddling… not to mention an uninformed and inexperienced person with no skin in the game being immediately put into your chain of command and essentially into an executive management position of your business.
It also creates another unnecessary cottage industry that will sprout up for people to hire to navigate through the governmental red tape and maze. The government is notoriously slow. Imagine having to navigate (and pay for) another layer of governmental interference?
And who determines what price you should put your products at? Who determines the proper amount of profit? Based on what? Some government bureaucrat who has zero idea on how your business and industry runs will be the one essentially telling you what to do? Wow! And who is probably being influenced by social media posts, a biased “mainstream media”, opportunistic politicians and loud partisan cry babies who are also clueless?
And once they get through the proverbial doorway… do you think the government will just stop with controlling your prices? What’s right around the corner? Perhaps they try to push some DEI initiative and forcing you to hire from “X” demographic or “Y” group of people—regardless of their qualifications. What if you don’t comply… what if you don’t do what they want… do they shut you down? What happens when the inevitable happens and these politicians meddle with everything in your business to help their political career? How do you think that will go? You may like it when it’s your party in control… but what happens when it’s not? And how is that seesawing back and forth between political ideologies good for anyone?
Transparency and Accountability
Transparency as well as disseminating truthful, relevant, fact based and helpful/useful information is key. Businesses should be required (within reason) to disclose their pricing and any relevant data that shows how they compare to their competition.
They also should be given a chance to respond to a report before it’s public. Just because one grocery store has higher prices than another doesn’t mean the higher priced business is price-gouging or being inappropriate.
Some businesses are small and don’t have the pricing power of a national brand or get their bulk purchasing discounts. Some companies offer premium products, so comparing them with a mid-level grocer is unfair. Some businesses may be in New York city where the costs are a lot higher, so they shouldn’t be compared to a semi-rural grocer in Arkansas who sells a lot of lower cost local fruit and food. Context and a fair representation matters. Businesses should be able to rebut any negative findings and provide context and, if needed, an explanation. Often these nuances are lost when the government gets involved. They try to do a 1 size fits all strategy which way too often… fails and unnecessarily complicates situations.
This openness ensures that companies remain accountable, and it helps consumers make informed decisions.
In a market-driven system with the right checks and balances, consumers have the power to influence prices by choosing where to spend their money. If a company is truly gouging prices, consumers can and will take their business elsewhere, forcing the offending company to adjust its prices or lose market share.
The Bottom Line
While Kamala Harris’s proposal to control grocery prices may (allegedly) come from a place of concern, it risks creating more problems than it solves. The proper solution lies in fostering a competitive market environment where businesses are encouraged to innovate, improve, and offer better prices naturally. Reasonable regulations and transparency can support this system, ensuring that the market remains fair and competitive without unnecessary government overreach.
In the end, market freedom, combined with thoughtful regulation, offers a more sustainable and effective way to keep prices in check and ensure that consumers have access to affordable, high-quality products.
What we have to absolutely prevent is the overstepping of the government and allowing them to nudge the country along in the wrong direction. At some point, they nudge you so far… you don’t even realize that you are so off the path of common sense that you can’t even recognize the country any more.
Who would have thought 20 years ago, we would be arguing on a national level if a person born as a male should be allowed to shower, be in a locker room with and compete against people born as a woman… yet, here we are.
We cannot allow politicians and therefore the government to continually munch around the edges because eventually, they will get to the center.
Every 4 years, some politician will try to scream out populist bumper sticker slogans… be it about healthcare, education, guns, hospitals, grocery stores, etc. and the lemmings will rejoice… the sheep will jump for joy… the “ball” will be nudged along further in the wrong direction and when the next political cycle comes along, the politicians will do it again.
At some point, there will be no more meat on the bone, and then what?
They will keep going at it until that industry dies and then they will look at another industry or business or person to grandstand on next. At some point, you will look around and now you’re in a communist country.
Do you think the people in the Soviet Union back in the day wanted to get slaughtered by their government by the millions? To be controlled and still be poor, unhappy and in despair? Stalin promised the moon to the troubled nation and before they knew it… friends, family and many others were sent to the gulag or disappeared forever. Joseph Stalin’s rise to power and the control he exerted over the Soviet Union resulted from a combination of promises, political maneuvering, and exploitation of circumstances. How did that work out for the people? Look at what happened in China… tens of millions died in the 20th century. And both circumstances above weren’t that relatively long ago. I am sure that before the atrocities happened in those nations, the people never thought it would or could. Remember Germany under Hitler’s rule? At the time, Germany was one of the most “civilized” and advanced countries on the planet… and we all know how that went.
You may like what Kamala Harris is selling now… until they come for your job… your industry… your family.
Do I think Kamala is Hitler, Stalin or Mao… no, I don’t. However, who will come after her… how many precedents will she (or far-left politicians like her) start… how much nudging will she do that someone in the future will take advantage of?
Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor did it fall in one.
You may think this is just paranoia… but is it? Look at what they have done with crime in LA, San Fran, NYC and many other areas. Look at the illegal immigrant crisis. Look at the inflation. Look at the war in Ukraine. Who would have thought in the 21st century, there would be trench warfare and a 1st world country with their cities bombed out?
I find it strange that in one speech, Kamala brags about how she thinks that the Biden’s administration did well and then in another speech… she complains about how high the prices have gotten… all the while not realizing that COVID and bad economic policies by HER administration help cause a lot of the inflation… and rather than address that—she wants to go after business. That drips of a socialist way of thinking… or worse – communism. SMDH.
And to circle back around to crime… and to show how insane people like Kamala Harris can be and their ability to have the truth elude them… the absurdity gets even worse. The left has the wacky notion to brag because (allegedly) some of the crime numbers have gone down… but the reality is a lot of crime is not getting dealt with because of a lack of funding with many police forces, a lot of crimes are being under-reported and the non-enforcement of some crimes where they are completely ignoring some criminal acts (or did things like raise the amount someone would have to steal to make it a felony). So, on the surface… it looks like crime has gone done… but it hasn’t… they are just playing with the system, the numbers, the context and reality.
Clearly, having the government step in to such a vast industry as grocery stores, which will affect all of us and be heavy-handed with it… smashing it with a blunt instrument when a scalpel would do much better would be disastrous. As pointed out above, people like Mrs. Harris can’t even tell us the truth about why the prices are high… they can’t even report on crime honestly… but we’re gonna trust that they will be fair in something as important and as big as the grocery industry?
I think the “solution” for this is already fundamentally in place and it’s the free market system. We, as a country, just have to put the right people in charge and use intelligence, common sense and fairness to implement solid strategies to fix the problem.
Kamala Harris and her far-left ideas are not the answer.
