Remedial Economics RE: Price Caps

At Reason, Veronique de Rugy warns us that we should be terrified of price caps.Regulars here will already know that this is an immoral and impractical idea that would distort markets and lead to shortages if put into practice.Same regulars might not know how popular this stupid idea is, though:A new Wall Street Journal poll finds remarkable bipartisan support for government limits on prices, with 93 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of Republicans supporting capping prescription drug prices. Nearly four in five voters support capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent. And large majorities favor capping child care charges for working families. [bold added]This news should be a clarion call for anyone with half a clue about economics.Fortunately, de Rugy follows this up with a few brief paragraphs that might help any reasonably intelligent, thoughtful adult who isn't up to speed on economics realize why this is idea is worse than it is popular:Consider credit cards. A 10…