Franklin Roosevelt thought controlling prices of things would right the depressed economy. Today, more economists every day are admitting that his efforts caused The Great Depression to last at least five years longer than it needed to. In the 70s Richard Nixon thought that his program of price controls would save the economy. Instead, it wrecked it further. And now, in 2009, as the Obama administration contemplates a massive government takeover of the nation’s healthcare system — nearly 20% of our national economy — at the top of the list of things to do is to set up effective price controls on services.
