Price Controls

While government officials and politicians denounce high drug prices, they have created monopoly privileges for drug firms, thus ensuring higher-than-competitive prices for pharmaceuticals.

People often react to sudden price changes by demanding that government "do something" to bring prices down. It is important to understand the mentality behind such beliefs.

Bob critiques a Guardian article from an economist favoring price controls, and explains his argument with Joe Weisenthal about the social benefit of saving actual cash.

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.

The federal government, along with pharmaceutical, alcohol, and tobacco companies have spent money trying to put the legalization genie back in the prohibition bottle, so any argument or propaganda will suit their purposes.

Many landlords just received a crash course about how irrelevant their property rights are in Washington.

Many landlords just received a crash course about how irrelevant their property rights are in Washington.

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. 

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.