When does the government control prices?

The government does not control all prices. It only enters the market when the pricing system is not working properly. When are these times?When does the government control prices?
When Hugo Chavez is in control of the government...





Seriously, the government shouldn't ever control prices per se, except maybe in the case of a national emergency. If the pricing system is not working properly, it is not the job of the government to set the prices fairly, it is the job of the government to fix the system itself and let the market set the prices.





For example, if the critical widget market has price collusion, the government can arrest those who are colluding. If the gadget producers are all being bought up by ACME Inc, the government can block the purchases of producers.When does the government control prices?
Control is the keyword here. To me control implies full control which normally means that if I control something like price I can raise or lower the price at will. In that sense the government has never been able to control prices under any situation.





On the other hand the government does attempt to control prices all the time. It does not limit itself to ';when the market pricing system isn't working properly';. I not sure I've ever heard of a case when a free market was ';not working properly'; whatever, that is supposed to mean.





Over the last 60 to 70 years the government has continually interfered in the market to ';control'; pricing. In every case it has succeeded in increasing prices but never in lowering prices. Also in every intrusion into the market instead of ';fixing'; the situation is worse than before the intrusion.





The examples could fill up volumes but here are a few. In the 1940's or 1950's wages were fixed. So unable to raise wages to attract employees companies started offering health insurance which started us onto the path which has lead to the runaway health care cost we now have.





Another example is the wage price freezes of the 1970's. The government ordered prices frozen. For comodity items like gasoline etc. shortages arose. There was no market based pricing to limit demand or increase production. The price limits applied to existing products so new products were outside the control thus the rash of ';new an improved products'; which while more expensive were at least available. It was a total failure.





Government regulations increase the cost of manufacturing items and providing services, while at the same time providing no incentives for increasing production or hiring new employees.





A good recent example is the new minimum wage increases. The old minimum wage had become a non-factor as it was well below the starting pay for most jobs. This year the new minimum wage took effect in the mist of the highest level of unemployment in over 20 years and the predictable result the highest unemployment rate for 18 -21 year olds (entry level jobs). So once again another case of government controls not only having predictable and undesirable results was yet undertaken for temporary political advantage.





The answer is all the time and never. The politicians continually attempt to control the economy through government action and it never improves the economy.