Kamala Harris Proposes Price Controls to Bring Down Costs

This is a joke, right? Surely the second-in-charge of the current administration, which is itself responsible for rampant inflation and rising prices, is not calling for government price controls as a way to “fix” out-of-control grocery prices?

To quote one astute X commenter, “I can’t believe any politician above the level of Student Council Treasurer could be this freaking economically illiterate”

But, here we are. Kamala Harris, eager to fight back against the widely held view that her policies are generally Marxist-leaning is now straight up adopting policies that would make any communist dictator glow with excitement, according to CNBC:

Vice President Kamala Harris plans to propose the first-ever federal ban on “corporate price-gouging in the food and grocery industries,” her campaign announced late Wednesday.

“There’s a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets, and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business,” the Harris campaign said in a statement. “Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills.”

The proposed ban is part of a broader economic policy platform that the Democratic presidential nominee plans to unveil Friday at a campaign rally in battleground North Carolina.

In March, the White House launched the Strike Force on Unfair and Illegal Pricing, a joint initiative between the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission.

On Friday, Harris will single out the meat industry, saying that “soaring meat prices have accounted for a large part of Americans’ higher grocery bills, even as meat processing companies registered record-breaking profits following the pandemic,” according to the statement from her campaign.

This all stems from the zero-accountability Biden-Harris administration which has presided over the largest inflationary increase in 40 years. Their policies have thrown gasoline on a burning fire pushing prices upward as they drive up the cost of labor and energy through the roof.

Maybe they should look at cutting back government spending. Nope. Instead, it’s a game of blaming the evil corporate food companies for raising their prices.

The most obvious direct effect of price controls unleashed on an economy is scarcity. If the government is forcing a company or store to sell something at or below cost, then it’s only a matter of time before it stops selling it or it disappears.

Here’s a recent example from 2015 in Venezuela extolling the joys of government price controlled-supermarkets where shoppers may enter only twice a week and stand in line for hours to get in:

In Venezuela, government supermarkets sell price-controlled food, making them far cheaper than private stores. But Valero explains that people are allowed in state-run supermarkets just two days per week, based on their ID card numbers. The system is designed to prevent shoppers from buying more than they need and then reselling goods on the black market at a huge markup.

Rising anger over food shortages — plus byzantine rules about when and where people can buy things — have made grocery shopping in Venezuela a nightmare.

Valero says goodbye to her 7- and 9-year-old daughters. They will skip school and stay home alone in a Caracas slum, with the door locked. That’s because Valero sometimes spends all day standing in line at grocery stores and can’t pick up the girls after class.

Sure, things are cheaper, but impossible to get. Democrats are enamored with the way the third world lives and functions day to day which is why they’re so eager to import that lifestyle to the United States. Just look at the tent cities across America’s once-great urban centers that are now decaying. Add some food shortages and government grocery stores to the mix and we can surpass Venezuela in terms of misery.

Here’s a thought, maybe consider slowing down rampant government spending and instead implement some sound economic policies.

Democrats don’t think that way as they’d rather lob up proposals to fix problems they caused to keep voters on the hook year after year.

The Harris-Walz campaign is shooting darts all over the map hoping they can somehow climb out from under the Biden-Harris economy. Voters should shove them back in that hole and nail the door shut.

There are no examples of government price controls that America should be following unless we’re now looking at Cuba as the gold standard for economic policy.

The new economic plan of Kamala Harris to fight ‘price gouging’ to bring down grocery prices is no different than the Communist Cuba solution of price controls which only makes inflation matters worse causing food shortages and rationing. Kamala is Hugo Chavez in a pantsuit. pic.twitter.com/d7jyejzyb7

— Righteous⚡️Crusader (@Craftmastah) August 15, 2024