Brian Callaci is chief economist at the Open Markets Institute.
Last month, the Biden administration announced it would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, prompting right-wing hysteria about price controls. Yet Biden’s plans don’t go far enough: the state should fund R&D to further cut costs.
For two years, centrists have mocked claims that profiteering is in part to blame for price hikes. But the history of food inflation during World War I, and the riots that halted it, show how capitalists take advantage of consumer expectations to price gouge.