Price controls, or antigouging laws, discourage innovation and sometimes can lead to supplies of goods and services being directed to other markets. In other words, price controls lead to shortages.
If Punjabi farmers had been portrayed as affluent, the media would view them as greedy entrepreneurs. But leveraging the political capital of perceived powerlessness has allowed them to obscure their true status as rent seekers.
The silent majority is the one that benefits from recent agricultural reforms, but mounting pressure from the vocal minority has prompted the government to once again increase government meddling.
India's parliament has recently passed new reforms to its long-standing interventionist regime which limits farmers' ability to buy and sell goods. These reforms are badly needed.
Our high levels of malinvestment mean that negative interest rates will not have the steroidal effect that's hoped for. But they will deliver another few years of subpar debt-fueled economic activity.
Our government is forever whining about, threatening against, high drug prices. Our pharmaceutical industry is “fighting” the Chinese in this economic “war” with both its hands tied behind its back.
Efforts by US policymakers to boost crude prices and to throw a lifeline to high-cost US crude producers is the exact opposite of what prices are telling us the market needs at this time.
