Trump Was Right on Price Controls, Until He Endorsed Them

Brian Albrecht is chief economist at the International Center for Law & Economics and co-writes the newsletter Economic Forces. On the 2023 campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris’s first major economic speech included proposing a ban on so-called “price gouging.” Jason Furman, a top economist in the Obama administration, said it was “not sensible policy.” As economists across the political spectrum will tell you, capping prices would discourage new companies from ramping up supply, invariably creating shortages. Donald Trump called the plan “SOVIET Style price controls.” He was right, if overly dramatic.