Jonathan's Musings

Cosatu calls on govt to intervene in food prices
- Mail & Guardian Online

While I agree that the rising food prices are a problem, and that Cosatu thinks it is acting in the best interests of its member, price controls are not an option!

Screwing with a free market economy is not a wise move at all!!

(Aside: I remember reading somewhere before that if one looks at Zimbabwe's economy over the last 15 years or so, a lot of their current economic problems started as a result of the government implementing price controls...)

And did the price controls implemented for Medicine a while back help at all? I don't think so. All it seemed to do was shift the costs around a bit and put some people out of business.

If the prices are truly inflated, then a competitor who can produce the items at a lower cost will use price as a leverage to further the sales of their own product. That's how capitalism works, Cosatu!

Also, such a mention as this without taking into consideration the current world financial troubles is ignorant and near-sighted.

It is "calls" such as these which, if heeded, will lead to the downfall of the SA economy...