Per Townhall, “With Americans nationwide facing pain at the pump, Democrats next week will vote on legislation giving the Biden administration power to bar oil companies from setting ‘unconscionably excessive’ or exploitative gas and home energy prices.” So once again, the same failed policy of price controls must be imposed on Americans so politicians can act like they’re doing something. And what will the effect be? Well, here are nine films that tell the tale.
A journalist in Venezuela encounters the real life effects of price controls, and documents in a day’s shopping what it’s like to buy eight common goods when the State dictates prices. [3 min]
“We used to produce rice and we had excellent coffee; now we produce nothing. With the situation here people abandoned the fields…”
–The Guardian: Venezuela food shortages: ‘No one can explain why a rich country has no food’
The post-WWII German economic miracle takes off, when economist Ludwig Erhard is put in charge of the economy and removes Allied-imposed controls on prices in defiance of the occupying Allied commanders. [4 min]
This Khan Academy AP Microeconomics video explains how price floors and ceilings interfere with the normal workings of free trade, resulting in shortages and surpluses. [8 min]
Milton Friedman explains why price controls don’t work as cure for inflation. [2 min]
Journalist John Stossel demonstrates how rent control creates housing shortages and ultimately drive rents higher. [5 min]
Is price gouging immoral? This animated short examines the question. [2 min]
How the battle at Valley Forge was undermined by price controls, and the lesson that was learned from it. [2 min]
How government attempts control prices lost the city of Antwerp to the Spanish in 1585. [2 min]
Tom Riddle Asks Professor Slughorn about price controls. [1 min]