Campaigning against “gouging” makes for good politics, but lousy policy

Source: Orange County Register
by Joel Fox

“California’s most prominent political figures, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom, have devised similar strategies to offset consumer price increases from what they label as corporate greed — call it the California anti-gouging strategy. Vice President Harris has aimed her anti-gouging strategy at grocery stores. The details are thin, but Harris claims her anti-gouging regulations will force grocers to bring down food prices, even though reportedly groceries live off a narrow profit margin. Governor Newsom’s recent call for a special session of the legislature to set more regulations on the fossil fuel industry comes after he pushed through a previous anti-gouging law on oil prices less than two years ago. … blaming business for a troubled economy is standard procedure, especially when such political attacks deflect examination of economic woes away from other causes in price run-ups, including government’s regulatory, spending and taxing roles.” (09/29/24)

https://www.ocregister.com/2024/09/29/campaigning-against-gouging-makes-for-good-politics-but-lousy-policy/