Hacker News Reader

Comment by mc32 | Hacker News Reader

Sadly, these results are going to be ignored by those in favor of rent controls —of course these same people will cite any undergrad study results to support whatever policy they agree with. Hard numbers? No way.

Kamala is talking about grocery price controls (and calls it gauging laws). However, this is a dubious proposition given that the grocery retail industry is notorious for slim margins 1 - 1.5% profit margins. Like what the hell is this going to accomplish, other than create shortages in some areas?

It’s dumb. I don’t know who in hell is giving her economic advice, but they need to fire whoever the hell he or she is.

View on HN

You could have actually paid attention to what she said instead of taking the MAGA approach where you only hear what you want to hear and jettison everything else. Her plan for grocery price controls was about emergency situations to prevent gouging. Every single state in the union which has political representation that YOU like already has such laws in place, they just aren't enforced unless there's political theater to be made.

The simple fact of the matter is that vendors will sell their product anyway. It takes time to bring product to the market and most food is highly perishable. To the extent that the US subsidizes agriculture, there's absolutely no excuse for gouging during emergencies.

If you listen to her speeches, she tries to weave this in when talking about inflation: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a84rQCyQ7mk

So she's trying to imply price gouging laws would bring down inflation. When people talk about inflation they mean a national economic trend, they don't mean a very transient increase in the price of goods during an emergency, such as hurricanes, etc. Also, during emergencies, there is not much gouging in groceries (she heavily implies she's addressing grocery prices), but rather in other goods (plywood, fuel, generators, etc).

>Her plan for grocery price controls was about emergency situations to prevent gouging.

Is the US in an emergency situation regarding grocery prices? Has a hurricane hit the entire country at once?

PS - NYC instituted rent control in 1943 as an "emergency" remedy during WW2.

So-called "gouging" (a propaganda term) is needed to balance supply and demand.

I wonder, will they go house to house to check for "hoarders" people who have an excess of the thing in short supply? How would they determine what is excessive?

Yes, totally. That's why places in NC are currently charging 10 bucks a gallon for gas instead of rationing it out at 5 gallons a piece at market rates. Because supply and demand.

Yes, and those gas stations should be praised for doing so.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com