Price Fixing? ; Anti-Gouging Laws Add to Market Woes

Summary

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Former Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev once noted, "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river." He wasn't speaking literally, of course. He was referring to the bad habit politicians have of spending taxpayers' money on programs that have little or no real value, but make it appear as though they are solving some great problem. Such is the case with a bill that deals with gouging on gasoline prices.

At a conference last week, Federal Trade Commission head Deborah Platt Majoras told attendees she's worried Congress will pass a law to punish price gougers, despite her repeated warnings that such a law likely would cause gasoline shortages. The FTC studied the situation and determined that a law banning gas price gouging is not needed to protect consumers.

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Extract

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Price Fixing? ; Anti-Gouging Laws Add to Market Woes

Last year, reacting to public anger at high gas prices after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged oil platforms and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico area, politicians started talking about "doing something" to protect consumers. The Senate has thus ...

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