Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'price controls'

August 28, 2020

Donald Trump’s bad prescription for drug prices

The final night of the 2020 Republican National Convention included powerful lines promoting the Trump administration’s drug price policies. President Donald Trump claimed that his recent executive orders on drug prices “will massively lower the cost of your prescription drugs.” Continue Reading...
March 18, 2020

Empty store shelves? Thank price controls

The COVID-19 pandemic panic has caused an eerie, post-apocalyptic scene to become commonplace across the country: supermarkets with barren shelves. One would think that this is the time for an intervention to ensure that stores stay stocked with the things we need, but governors nationwide are taking the opposite approach. Continue Reading...
December 06, 2016

Understanding tax revenue and deadweight loss

Note: This is post #12 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Why do taxes exist? What are their effects? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok explains how taxes affect consumer surplus and producer surplus. Continue Reading...
October 30, 2012

The Ethics of ‘Price Gouging’

After declaring a state of emergency in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a forceful reminder to merchants: Price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal and will result in significant penalties. Continue Reading...
July 17, 2012

Let Them Eat Cheese

Turns out that cronyism hits more than just your pocketbook. There’s a good chance it’s hitting your waistline too. That’s the takeaway from this editorial by Charles Lane. You see, cheese is one of the highest fat foods we eat, and our country overproduces cheese because of government created market distortions. Continue Reading...
February 22, 2007

Mugabe’s bread machine falling apart

This made me think of this. From the NYTimes: “Zimbabwe’s economy is so dire that bread vanished from store shelves across the country on Wednesday after bakeries shut down, saying government price controls were requiring them to sell loaves at a loss. Continue Reading...