This economist says the US needs price controls to tackle inflation: ‘We need to dare to think outside the box’

Isabella Weber says economists must design policies that people feel make their lives better - or the US could slide toward fascism

As Donald Trump has pointed out, the price of groceries was one of the determining factors in his election win. But there was a moment when Kamala Harris led that debate.

When Harris rolled out her economic platform in August, a new proposal captured the public's attention: a federal ban on price gouging for food and groceries. Though many voters seemed to support the idea, economists at the time derided it. If the federal government were to cap prices, they argued, supply and demand would become misaligned and shortages would ensue.