Price capping is one of those business topics that always sparks debate anytime it's raised. Price capping simply means putting a limit on how high or low the price of any commodity should be sold. In some countries, government or regulatory bodies usually introduce price caps to protect consumers from being overcharged, especially for essential goods like fuel, food, and medicine. But is it a good thing?. Although it depends on who you are asking, the consumer or the business owner
In the country where I come from, there is nothing like price capping, not even in our dreams. Everybody does as it pleases them. Imagine that as the festive period is fast approaching now, some individuals will increase the price of goods on their own not because there is fuel scarcity or food scarcity but because of greed. You know the funniest thing is that after the festive period, the price will never come back to what it used to be. Putting a price cap on goods or foods in my country might be very difficult to achieve.
Because business owners see price caps as a limitation, running a business comes with challenges like the rise in production costs, transportation expenses, taxes, and more. At times when these costs go up, a business needs the flexibility to adjust prices in order to survive. If there is a strict price cap, it can feel like trying to breathe through a straw, just like you are working hard but can't get enough air to stay afloat. As much as it might affect small businesses if the restrictions are too tight. There is one problem I have with most business owners: when the price of a product goes down, they should try and bring it down instead of coming up with another excuse or reason why they won't return the price to its original price.
I went to get food at a local restaurant one of the days and by the time she finished putting my food. I had to remind her of the exact price of food that I ordered , and she told me that she is aware that everything is very expensive in the market. I was pissed. I told her that things are now cheap, why does she still want to keep selling the exact same quantity that was sold when the price of food stuff was expensive. She couldn't say any but took my plate and added more food.
Giving business complete freedom to set prices as it is allowed now in my country. It has become dangerous. The lack of regulatory bodies in my country has made many companies now charge ridiculously high prices because they know that people have no choice but to buy. Most times some of the companies just sell their own at a low price because of competition. The moment that they succeed in bringing others down and see that people are hooked, they increase it and reduce its quality almost immediately. This kind of pricing manipulation is what is harming both the economy and the consumers in the long run.
I think the best way to approach these price caps is by the government finding a balance. Not be too strict if they ever want to put price caps. After all, a healthy economy should work for everyone, not just the sellers and not just the buyers, but for the society as a whole.
Images are Ai generated.
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