Let’s Solve The “PRICE GOUGING” Problem

End Public Sector Monopolies. Embrace Non-Government Options

In a Facebook discussion today, Paul asked how libertarians would address the “price gouging” problem which, he suspects, is the cause of the rising cost of living that is threatening every Canadian.

Inflation is a real problem today. There are many factors that contribute to it and most of them can be traced to government policies. As a student of Economics, I offered Paul the following explanation.

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Paul. Truly open and competitive markets will always eliminate the “price gouging” problem as any student of Economics knows. Monopolies, the only enterprises that can command high prices with fat profit margins, offer suboptimal services and get away with it, are the source of the problem.

In Ontario, Canada, where I live, the only monopolies that exists today are in the government sector. Anti-trust laws have existed in Canada since 1889 to break up any ‘for-profit’ enterprises that excessively dominate their market segment. In the public sector, however, monopolies are everywhere. For example, can you name any significant competitors in the following sectors besides the government? - Hospitals & Health Care; Public Schools & Universities; Policing & Law Enforcement; Nuclear & Electrical Energy;  Public Services (subways, maintenance of roads and parks care, etc). There are many more.

Consider also that nearly 78% of government employees are required to be a union member and to follow union rules that benefit only themselves at the expense of every taxpayer. This form of Monopoly Labour has been superimposed on the Monopoly Services that governments control under prescribed legislation.

Finally, governments hold a Monopoly on Power. Hundreds of thousands of regulations have been crafted over time by non-elected government officials so that rules and procedures are in place to control the enforcement of laws which have been passed by elected politicians in federal Parliament  and provincial Legislatures. While some regulations are useful, others impose costly and restrictive burdens on businesses. These  compliance costs are reflected in higher consumer prices and justified as “the cost of doing business” in Ontario/Canada.    

Of course, prices are also rising from taxes. A carbon tax, for example, is imposed by fiat on all of us. This additional cost foist on all producers and distributors in every supply chain is always passed on the consumer - again, as “the cost of doing business”. If you eliminate the carbon tax, that cost disappears and retailers will adjust their prices to remain competitive.

In summary, if you seriously want to address the “price gouging” problem, look no further than the government sector. This problem cannot be resolved until our citizens truly understand its root causes and act accordingly during elections with their vote and in between elections by protest and activism. The Will Of Informed People is the only antidote to this problem.

The Ontario Libertarian Party offers the Freedom of Choice platform. https://libertarian.on.ca/platform/2022

It specially addresses the “price gouging” problem by tackling the root causes of the rising cost of living head on - the excessive expansion in the size, scope of authority, and cost of governments at every level. The majority of citizens must demand Less Government until a healthy balance exists between The People and The State.

Read about the Libertarian “non-government services” proposal and you will see that this problem if very solvable. It only requires a sufficient number of voters do their part in every election to repeal public sector “price gouging” wherever and whenever is occurs.