Left Review

No less than the Washington Post has come out against Kamala Harris's plan:

"Whether the Harris proposal wins over voters remains to be seen, but if sound economic analysis still matters, it won’t," the liberal-leaning Washington Post editorial board wrote on Friday. If enacted, the Harris campaign’s proposal would give authority to the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to impose harsh penalties on companies for setting excessively high prices. "There’s a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business," the Harris campaign said in a statement. "Americans can see that difference in their grocery bills." The Post’s editorial board took Harris to task on the idea, stating it’s not even clear what her plan is. "Ms. Harris says she’ll target companies that make ‘excessive’ profits, whatever that means." It also expressed relief that the plan was getting pummeled out of the gate. "Thankfully, this gambit by Ms. Harris has been met with almost instant skepticism, with many critics citing President Richard M. Nixon’s failed price controls from the 1970s." A prominent Washington Post opinion columnist was even harsher on Harris’ price control proposal this week. Columnist Catherine Rampell wrote on Thursday, "It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is. It is, in all but name, a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food." Rampell added that it flies in the face of free market economics, adding that "Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. Far-off Washington bureaucrats would. The FTC would be able to tell, say, a Kroger in Ohio the acceptable price it can charge for milk." The columnist also said the policy gives credence to those saying Harris has "Communist" political leanings. "If your opponent claims you’re a ‘communist,’ maybe don’t start with an economic agenda that can (accurately) be labeled as federal price controls," she wrote.

Communism is what it is...