Staff Reports
Vice President Kamala Harris has finally decided to take a break from her lengthy silence regarding policy proposals by announcing her first bright idea: price controls. It seems that nearly a month after President Joe Biden backed out of the race and handed her the baton, Harris is ready to tackle inflation with a strategy that many might classify as a rehash of failed past policies. On Friday, she plans to unveil her ambitious scheme, misleadingly dubbed “the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries,” during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Price gouging is a hot-button term that sends shivers down the spines of big corporations, at least in the Harris camp’s mind. The proposal theoretically aims to protect consumers from being “unfairly exploited” while simultaneously allowing them to bask in the illusion of political action against rising food prices. She expresses a desperate attempt to set the record straight, hinting that corporations are the real villains behind inflation, diverting attention from the administration’s own catastrophic handling of the economy.
Corporate monopolies are jacking up prices to pad their profits.
VP @KamalaHarris is fighting back to deliver relief for families at the grocery store.
I’ve got a bill for that—let’s get it done. https://t.co/MbxtI6LDPZ
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 15, 2024
Her fellow progressive, Senator Elizabeth Warren, is practically jumping for joy at the thought of Harris’s proposal. It appears Warren has her own bill on the same subject, all while cheerleading for big government solutions to problems that stem from, well, big government policies in the first place. They seem to live in a fantasy world where corporate greed is treated as the root of inflation rather than recognizing larger macroeconomic issues. This crowd seems to genuinely believe that they can legislate away the complexities of an economy, leaving normal Americans to wonder what planet they’re living on.
As Harris takes up the sword to champion food price regulation, it’s essential to recognize the implications of such a policy. Historical evidence from places like the Soviet Union and Venezuela paints a dire picture for any attempt to control prices. Price controls, once enacted, often lead to shortages and ultimately diminish the quality of goods available to consumers. Short-term gains are overshadowed by the long-term consequences, wherein one must ponder whether lower prices for bread are actually worth a complete lack of bread altogether.
Instead of introspection, the Biden-Harris administration is doubling down on its misguided policies. Just recently, Biden nonsensically declared that the U.S. has “beaten” inflation, while simultaneously ignoring the outcry from the general public about rising prices. Americans are not seeing their grocery bills magically lower due to the administration’s decisions. The sweeping government initiatives that Harris is endorsing would likely only elevate frustrations rather than ease them. Who needs a flourishing market when you can have the government peering into grocery store shelves, right? In what era of American history did voters get so seduced by the idea of government thereby stepping in to regulate their meals?
News: Harris to propose “federal ban on corporate price-gouging” on groceries and “impose stiff penalties in the food industry,” campaign announces.
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) August 15, 2024
By positioning this price control policy as relief for families, Harris and her allies are trying to combat the backlash from the general public concerning inflation. However, the reality is far more intricate than they would like to admit. Modern research suggests that corporate greed is not the primary driver of inflation, contradicting the narrative peddled by progressive politicians. Instead, the issues stem from an intricate web of factors, many influenced by past policy missteps from the very administration that Harris represents.
This proposed policy shift doesn’t just aim to manage the grocery bill—it signals an escalation in the ongoing warfare against capitalism. The stakes are high, and the implications of a vote for Harris may very well lead to an array of government interventions reminiscent of the bread lines seen in more authoritarian regimes. As the Biden-Harris administration continues to grapple with soaring prices, perhaps the most prudent message remains clear: a vote for Kamala is a vote for a government entitlement program running the nation’s kitchen.
