History Shows us this ALWAYS Ends Badly

Politicians always feel the need to do something even if they don't know why or what's actually wrong. That's all "price controls" really are since they sure don't control anything like prices. Unknown to most people, the US has already experimented with them running price and wage restrictions for several years. The results are conclusive.

Eurodollar University's Money & Macro Analysis

Robert Bleiberg Farewell to Wage and Price Controls

Richard Nixon August 15, 1971 TV address

Arthur Burns Testimony before Congress Joint Economic Committee June 1971

Arthur Burns Testimony before Congress Joint Economic Committee July 1971

NYT NIXON FREEZES PRICES FOR UP TO 60 DAYS, THEN WILL ESTABLISH PHASE 4 CONTROLS; FARM PRICES, WAGES, RENTS UNAFFECTED

[Mathew-zsnz]

High prices for everything have severely affected my plan. I'm concerned if people who went through the 2008 financial crisis had an easier time than I am having now. The stock market is worrying me as my income has decreased, and I fear I won't have enough savings for retirement since I can't contribute as much as before.

[brianwashere]

Price control... An attempt by those who screwed it up to fix it instead of OH I DON'T SPENDING!

[UnknownTkayy]

Agree. Very likely we r headed for a decade long bear market in all western assets. It will be a period of geopolitical n currency changes. Within US this is the chance to do the long-needed economic n social n government reforms. If we succeed, US will be on a long-term sustainable growth path in a decade. But we must take the pain 1st n do the adjustments. From investing pov, sell all US, european equities n bonds. Go long Gold and Crypto. Go long emerging market I have managed to grow a nest egg of around 100k to a decent 432k in the space of a few months... I'm especially grateful to Sandy Barclay’s, whose deep expertise and traditional trading acumen have been invaluable in this challenging, ever-evolving financial landscape.

[davidminutella]

I like your “oops I farted but accidentally shit my pants” thumbnails

[Rexini_Kobalt]

price controls are something that the united states has needed for decades. but the fed dosnt have enoug staff, money, and acumen to keep up with the small amount of things they actually do (like actually taxing certain folks), to actually set up proper price controls. we should be dumping money into the irs as well as price controls. and its all too late, as was mentioned

[SaintCuthbertoftheCudgel]

100%. Fewer politicians = lower inflation.

[JP-xqfo]

If they put "price controls" on our wages and not CEO 's I hope we all finally wake up and refuse to show for work...

[JohnBond]

The real problem is that governments haven't lost their purchasing power. They keep on spending and spending and therefore people work but there's nothing left for them to own

[Meetthemakerday]

No worries. Unless you have money, precious metals buried in the yard, stock, yada yada. The war effort and bail-ins are inevitable.

[sturmherooflance]

I basically agree, except in the case of medicine where the industry has made regular rules of supply and demand basically not apply. Price control the hell out of the medical industry.

[johnmarshall]

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

[Hitescape]

All I hear is: I told you so, They don't know what they are doing. It won't work. Well please, once and all, just tell us what your idea is for a solution? Unfortunately, I don't believe that you even look at the comments and plan on beating the same old drum forever...

[scotthesse]

Why are not the wage/price controls of the 1940's brought up to show unintended consequences? After WWII employers were forbidden to raise wages. The employers then provided health insurance (and/or fringe benefits including retirement benefits), which was not considered compensation, therefore getting around wage and price controls. Such distortions in the economy have become permanent. Eighty years later we have medical insurance costs running out of control and retirement promises made to the workforce that cannot be paid for. I wonder what distortions to the economy the proposed 2020's wage/price controls will cause?

[TheOptionsAlchemist]

If rates are heading much lower as we expect deflation, then wouldn't prices make their way lower anyway without price controls?

[tinkrlsr]

I'd agree with you mostly if big grocery companies didn't admit to price gouging, and if richer people didn't shut others out of the housing market purposefully, and if CEO's didn't have huge lay offs and cut budgets just to pay themselves more

[DangerCloseE]

It started in 1965 when we got off the silver standard and really took off after we got off the gold standard!

[luckylanno]

This was an interesting history lesson. But I don't think it explains what is happening. Most industries are highly consolidated now. There's a good chance that every grocery store near you is owned by the same company, regardless of what it says on the marquis. There is no free market in such an environment. Prices are controlled by people who want to squeeze you for everything you're worth. The question is simple: Are you just going to lie there and take it?

[itshimhim]

We can have price controls as long as we vote for abortion right?… isn’t that all that matters?

[danmihai]

Just let the economy run its course and the cycle.

[iacobaccci]

You can give Nixon a break he did call it out later in 1978 that price controls were a bad idea.