Sigh. In a competitive market there are two kinds of price caps: caps above the equilibrium price, which are irrelevant, and caps below the equilibrium price, which cause shortages. There are no exceptions. Ever. This is literally day one of any introductory economics class.
I guess President Obama feels that just because it has never worked and fundamentally can’t is no reason not to try.
POSTSCRIPT: Nice editorializing, NYT:
In a move to protect consumers, the Obama administration said Tuesday that it would require health insurance companies to disclose and justify any rate increases of 10 percent or more next year.
(Emphasis mine.) Price controls may have many effects, but the one thing they won’t do is protect consumers.
(Via the Corner.)
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