There is a way to ease the cost of living crisis – price caps on food and fuel: It’s time to be radical in restructuring our economy
There is a way to ease the cost of living crisis – price caps on food and fuel: It’s time to be radical in restructuring our economy
26 comments
Have we tried prosecuting the energy companies for price gouging yet?
This has worked for other countries such as France. The government have been in the pockets of oil companies for years so a drastic change needs to take place.
Price caps = Shortages
The fundamental problem is a lack of supply, and too much demand. Price caps won’t solve the supply problem, and will _increase_ demand.
The G7 were considering a price cap on the amount they will pay for Russian oil/gas, slightly different but shows countries are thinking outside the economic box they normally think in.
But assuming that’s never going to happen in a million years, anybody got any other ideas?
I hardly think the people that invented this situation are likely to do anything whatsoever to minimise the damage to families and individuals.
They gave oil and gas over a billion in tax rebates while simultaneously permitting them to not pay tax, then allowed them to hike their prices to generate the highest ever profits. They’ve also abolished food standards.
Nobody is coming to save you.
Price caps on food, what are you going to do send in the army to make farmers harvest crops or milk their cows? Maybe round-up the unemployed and make them work on the farms. Punish the farmers if they don’t produce their required quota?
Sort of shit Stalin did, but then again John McDonnell was happy to be pictured in front of a banner with Stalin and Mao on it https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/shadow-chancellor-john-mcdonnell-speaks-to-union-members-in-news-photo/1146268486
Nationalisation is the answer I think.
Price caps during periods of inflation are historically a terrible idea and cause huge shortages which makes the problem worse. Weimarr republic is a very important example of this happening and the same mistakes can’t be made.
“Radical in restructuring” is a pretty way of saying destroying.
The prices of food needed to rise as the producers have been screwed for too long by the supermarkets.
Maybe first we put a cap on the gap between the lowest pay/bonus and the executive pay/bonus. If the profit distribute more equally people will be able to afford food in the first place.
Good job our price cap on gas and electric is working so successfully.
No, really, it isn’t. There is no example of it ever working, in recorded history, anywhere in the world.
Terrible stupid idea. It doesn’t work, the economy is dynamic, you cannot place caps on consumer products like food. The farms will not be able to afford to supply the food and creating shortages which is far worse situation than higher prices
Anyone suggesting this as a workable suggestion doesn’t understand basic economics.
Where’s the profit in that? s/
We’ve suffered from really selfish in it for themselves politicians to such an extent that people have sort of adopted a mindset of “this sounds like it’s for the people so it must be good” but policies like this can genuinely do as much damage as corruption. They’ve caused food shortages and misery across the years throughout the world, having the best intentions is not good enough.
Lucky there’s no prospect of this happening.
I got one better.
Stop using fuel it’s time people started walking and cycling more and if i was the mayor of my town i’d implement it and limit fuel usage to commercial use and public transport which would include taxis.
Beyond that all residential use would be prohibited and the more people bitched about it the longer it would go on.
Price caps? Go 100% radical with PROFIT MARGIN CAPS!
But… how will the shareholders maintain their fat stacks?
Ah yes, the communist way of doing things, works so well for places like Venezuela and Cuba. I’ve not bothered with the article beyond the headline but the idea is absolutely stupid.
Really? I see there is no real detail of how they could actually do this in the real world.
And who do they think is going to sell us their food and fuel when they can get a better price from other countries? This whole article is just some fairy tale pipe dream
Price caps do nothing. We have seen it tried time and again. What we need is monopoly busting.
Price caps!?!?! Wow, just wow! You might be better reading about supply and demand rather than price caps
My current fsvourite is how much noise there is about climate change and the need to end the use of oil blah blah, then wondering why no money is spent on increasing refineries capacity/building new ones then wondering why the price goes through the roof!
Time for some people to wake up a little
Yeah? And? Did he pitch this to his people?
Price caps sound like a dreadful idea. That’s the best way to collapse your output, especially in high demand little supply scenario already.