Perhaps you answered your own question as to the efficacy of wage and price control when you referred to Whitlam. We all know what Whitlam did to the economy. Wage and price control is a socialist thing that stunts the economy without doing much for the lower paid.

You also mention greed. From your "howls of protest" from "vested interest" groups, you seem to be attributing greed only to the 'rich and powerful'. Don't forget the greed and demand for immediate satisfaction from the hoi polloi. Rabid consumerism has increased prices. If we all decided against buying uneccessay 'luxury' goods for a while, we would have the best price control possible.

I think that we have to leave the market system as it is, without undue government interference. We, as consumers, have to play our role in the system by denying the rip-off merchants our money untile they do something about their prices - which they must if they want our custom.

Too many people damn the free market system without trying to play their essential role in it. The system is the least-bad one we know of, and does not necessarily need to be run by the top end of town. Customers are essential for business, and they are the ones with the real power - if only they would give up their need for instant gratification and exercise that power.

On the other hand, there needs to be some investigation into the pricing of the necessities of life, such as food and basic clothing. We cannot stop buying these things. However, we have seen the inability of the ACCC to deal with supermarkets who now, it seems, are paying farmers less for their produce than they did 10 years ago, while charging the customer more than they did 10 years ago. It has been suggested that, at the rate primary producers are dropping out of the market, Australia will not be able to feed itself sometime in the future.

The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?

cart

<a href=http://www.drugrehabfacilities.net>Drug Rehab Facilities</a>

" the dog chasing it`s tail "

so wages and price control makes a dog chasing its tail illegal... I will now try to find a dog who complies.... somehow I think I will have a long search....

"gross profiteering by the countries largest supermarket chains, in areas such as meat purchasing"

I recall the complete failure or any attempt by ACCC, and the Keating government of the time to prevent the merger of Coles / Myer and Woolworth / Safeway (actually I think Keating was all approval.. typical of that short-pant economist). The concentration of purchasing power into fewer wholesale buying groups and distribution through their own controlled retail outlets is the problem with the "profiteering" which Cuphandle mentions...

To address it requires two things...

1 Proper review by a Monopolies and Mergers commission (UK Term... ACCC in Aussie and Federal Trade Commission in USA)

2 Breakdown of mega groups... as the FTC have been trying to do with Microsoft, did do in USA with the Funeral Service Monopoly,and historically did with the Standard Oil / Rockafella Cartel back a hundred years ago, in USA.

Which has nothing whatsoever to do with Wages and Price controls.

Leigh (Mr Right) agree with your response...

cart I think you are on the wrong thread