The Plague ... of Price Controls

Deck: 

The world goeth fast from bad to worse.

Fortnightly Magazine - July 15 2001
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Many public voices today want the govern­ment to simply mandate lower energy prices, as though that would solve the problem in a New York—or at least a California minute. But in times like these, when passions rise with the thermometer, it's always good to keep a sense of perspective, and consider how others have dealt with similar problems in the deep dark past. Especially in the field of economic regulation, where the past supplies so many delicious examples of what works and what doesn't.

Back in the 14th Century, around 1350, the Black Death spread across Europe and killed a good quarter or more of the population. One chronicle tells us that King Edward III of England turned to wage controls to confront a shortage in the supply of servants and accompanying price increases:

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