The private sector is answering President Trump’s call to lower prices. Really!

How much is President Trump intervening in private businesses? Or is this just false advertisement by the president?

Government price controls by persuasion and/or browbeating?

"... Major retailers including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Albertsons, and Costco are cutting prices on thousands of everyday items. Novo Nordisk reduced Ozempic and Wegovy to as low as $199–$350 per month. Pfizer is cutting prices up to 85% through TrumpRx.

Energy utilities including Alliant Energy, NiSource, and Entergy have committed a combined $3.4 billion in consumer savings.

And automakers Ford and Stellantis are offering employee pricing and 0% financing nationwide. ...

Private Sector Answers the Call: Retailers, Drugmakers, and Energy Providers Cut Prices. Major retailers are responding directly to President Trump’s call to lower prices for American families.

Giant Eagle, Walmart, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Sam’s Club, Meijer, Costco, and H-E-B are collectively cutting prices on thousands of everyday items — with Giant Eagle cutting 10% or more on over 300 products and Kroger announcing its “biggest price cuts in years.”

On prescription drugs, Novo Nordisk slashed Ozempic and Wegovy to as low as $199–$350 per month, while Pfizer is cutting prices up to 85% through TrumpRx.

Energy utilities including Alliant Energy (5-year rate freeze), NiSource ($1.4 billion returned to consumers), and Entergy ($2 billion returned) are delivering meaningful relief on monthly bills. Ford extended employee pricing nationwide; Stellantis offered 0% financing and 90-day deferred payments. ..."

White House Weekly Briefing | August 3–9, 2026

California’s minimum wage will rise to $17.40 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027. Really!

Why not $20 or better $25 an hour! Minimum wages are very arbitrary and they do not help many individual seeking a job on the labor market. 

Minimum wages are only really good for incumbents, which is known for at least the last 100 years!

They are a form of appalling government price & wage controls!

They are constitutionally dubious and anathema for a country of free individuals!

It is a sign of socialism in the US!

Monday, August 3, 2026 - Join The Flyover

President Trump announces Walmart to lower prices for thousands of products at his administration's request

Good, but ambiguous news! The president of the people or a populist?

It is however controversial at a minimum, when a government intervenes at a private business to lower product prices.

"President Donald Trump said Monday that Walmart has confirmed it will be lowering its prices for thousands of products this summer at his administration's request in celebration of the United States' 250th birthday.

Walmart said it will be lowering prices through its signature Rollbacks and Sam's Club programs, and customers can expect savings on groceries, household and everyday essentials, outdoor living, toys and apparel.

Trump noted that one grocery price that the savings include is a reduction in the cost of beef, which he said will be lowered by almost 15% per pound. Walmart said a pound of beef will now cost $5.94 instead of $6.74. ..."

Trump announces Walmart to lower prices for thousands of products at his administration's request | Just The News "Walmart said it will be lowering prices through its signature Rollbacks and Sam's Club programs, and customers can expect savings on groceries, household and everyday essentials, outdoor living, toys and apparel."

Minimum Wage, Maximum Folly

Very recommendable! Minimum wages keep low skilled or inexperienced workers out! The road to hell is paved with good intentions! 

Nine pharmaceutical companies Makers to Reduce Prescription drug prices in the US for Medicaid recipients and cash buyers

I did not follow this story very closely. It appears that President Trump may have strong armed these companies in offering their drugs at lower prices in the US.

It has been argued for several decades that pharmaceutical companies around the world were taking advantage or exploiting the more open, free market of the US by offering higher priced drugs while accepting government price controls and numerous restrictions in other Western countries. As long as these companies were able to make large profits in the US they did not bother too much about limited business in other countries.

"The Trump administration announced new agreements on Friday with some of the world’s largest drug manufacturers aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for Americans. 

Nine pharmaceutical companies have agreed to reduce prices on their flagship drugs for Medicaid recipients and people who buy the medications in cash, rather than through insurance, as part of a new deal.

In addition, any newly launched drugs made by the companies will also be charged at the “most-favored-nation” pricing [or lowest price anywhere] across the country for everyone, including commercial and cash pay markets, as well as Medicare and Medicaid.

A senior administration official said about 30 to 40 percent of Medicaid drugs would be impacted."

Sunday, December 21, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Trump puts drugmakers on notice: 'Taking historic action'

Drug pricing has been so screwed up by many Western government interventions for so many decades, let's see whether President Trump can make positive and lasting difference.

What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis? Really!

Two nutty US professors call for socialist Big Government! They pretend and claim to bey "housing policy experts". Laughable!

What "housing crisis"? Pure propaganda and demagoguery!

If these two men were students of economics, they sure would receive a fail grade!

Why don't these two nutty professors not take a pay cut in support of needy tenants in their community instead of calling for socialist Big Government!

"Disclosure statement

Alex Schwartz has received funding from the Catherine and John D. MacArthur Foundation. Since 2019 he has served on New York City's Rent Guidelines Board. He has a relative who works for The Conversation.

Kirk McClure received funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and receives funding from the National Science Foundation."

The opening sentence is already pure demagoguery!

"If there’s one thing that U.S. politicians and activists from across the political spectrum can agree on, it’s that rents are far too high. ..."

More economic nonsense:

"... As experts on housing policy, we’re concerned about housing affordability. But our research shows little connection between a shortfall of housing and rental affordability problems. Even a massive infusion of new housing would not shrink housing costs enough to solve the crisis, as rents would likely remain out of reach for many households. ..."

"... However, there are already subsidies in place that ensure that some renters in the U.S. pay no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. The most effective [big government] solution, in our view, is to make these subsidies much more widely available. ..."

What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?

Representatives Anna Paulina Luna (R) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) team up on bipartisan effort to cap interest rates on credit cards. Really!

Can you believe it! These are clearly government price control measures!

What a cheap and stupid measure! Typical for populist politicians! Shame on them!

When a Republican Senator/Representative and their counterpart socialists get together! Bad outcomes!

It is not that difficult to handle a credit card despite high interest!

What price controls are next? How about rent control? On The Road to Serfdom!

Reps. Luna and AOC team up on bipartisan effort to cap interest rates on credit cards | Just The News The companion bill in the Senate was filed by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

"Her paternal grandfather was born in Germany and was in the Wehrmacht during World War II." (Source)

How America became the world leader in pharmaceutical innovation and why to keep big government out of it

How to ruin a dynamic, competitive, and innovative industry to the benefit of our health! Big government!

Increase competition through more imports, reduced intellectual property rights, lower taxes, less regulation etc.!

"... In the 1970s, Europe was the global hub for pharmaceutical innovation.  Fast forward and around two-thirds of new drugs developed in the last decade or so have originated in the United States, compared to just 22 percent from Europe.  ...

America did not become the world’s innovation leader because of government – private companies have long tackled complex health care problems far better than government agencies.

Unfortunately, Democrats and even some Republicans are now pushing the United States to follow Europe and embrace price controls on prescription drugs.  This is a grave mistake.  ..."

Read the new book by Sally Pipes & sign up for webinar

Equal Pay rules in Europe Make No Sense in the Real World

Equal pay rules are a dangerous interference in the economy by Big Government! It is socialism! 

Equal pay is a form of government price controls! It is socialism!

Men watch out in the battle of the sexes in the age of gender equality!

"Are employers finally waking up to the absurdities of British equality laws? A recent tribunal ruled that Next, the high street retailer, had underpaid its predominantly female retail staff compared with its mostly male warehouse workers. ...

The company now faces a potential £30 million-plus back-pay bill. ...

Warehouse roles are more physically demanding, with unsociable hours and fewer perks, meaning that companies often must offer higher wages to attract staff. ...

Yet since the European Union’s equal pay directive, employers must pay workers equally for jobs deemed to be of “equal value” or justify why they can’t. ..."

Whatever Next? Equal Pay Ruling Makes No Sense in the Real World | Cato Institute "In the real world, pay is affected by the subjective preferences and availability of workers, not simply by objective job characteristics."

Argentina Scrapped Its Rent Controls. Now the Market Is Thriving

Good news! Bravo chainsaw man!

No wonder the economy of Argentina was not doing well!

Government price controls are some of the most foolish measures of all!

"Argentina's recent repeal of rent control by libertarian President Javier Milei has led to a surge in housing supply, with the freedom to negotiate contracts, previously restricted, directly causing a drop in rental prices.

Milei, a self-described "anarcho-capitalist" known for his free-market approach, repealed the 2020 Rental Law, enacted by former leftist President Alberto Fernández, which had imposed restrictions on landlords and led to a significant decline in rental availability. ..."

Argentina Scrapped Its Rent Controls. Now the Market Is Thriving. - WSJ "President Javier Milei’s fiscal ‘shock therapy’ yields lower rents overall, but some people feel squeezed"

Javier Milei Got Rid of Rent Control in Argentina. Housing Supply Skyrocketed

Laura Ingraham: Government price and rent controls imposed by Mistress Kamala

Recommendable! How low and dim witted will Mistress Kamala go!

Wohnungsmarkt: SPD-Bundestagsfraktion fordert besseren Schutz vor zu hohen Mieten durch höhere Bußgelder für Vermieter. Wirklich!

Typisch Bananenrepublik D! An Stelle mehr zu bauen, behindernde Regulierungen und die Vermietung zu erleichtern!

Staatliche Eingriffe in die Preisbildung einer Marktwirtschaft sind fast immer schlechte Politik und erzielen oft das Gegenteil vom dem was angestrebt wurde! Das ist seit vielen Jahrzehnten hinreichend bekannt! Aber dumme, lebenslange Berufspolitiker, wie Dirk Wiese, (Alter 41) lernen nicht dazu!

"... „Wir müssen die Abzocke [???] von Mieterinnen und Mieter, die Mieten weit über der ortsüblichen Vergleichsmiete zahlen müssen, sofort beenden“, sagte Fraktionsvize Dirk Wiese (SPD) ..."

Wohnungsmarkt: SPD-Bundestagsfraktion fordert besseren Schutz vor zu hohen Mieten "Die Sozialdemokraten wollen entschieden gegen den sogenannten Mietwucher auf angespannten Wohnungsmärkten vorgehen. Ein neues Gesetz mit höheren Bußgeldern für Vermieter soll auf den Weg gebracht werden."

Dirk Wiese

China Targets Financial Elites, Puts a Cap on Executives' Salaries with Palki Sharma

How stupid is that! And to apply income caps retroactively? This is nuts!

California’s Crony Capitalist Minimum Wage Law under Governor Newsom

Cui bono or follow the money trail!

"On April 1, California raised the minimum wage for large fast food restaurant franchises to $20 an hour. This law will threaten seven hundred thousand jobs by destroying the state’s food franchising business; however, there is one notable fast food franchise exempted from this minimum wage hike: Panera.

Greg Flynn is the second-largest Panera franchisee in the world, but he is also known for his close relationship with California governor Gavin Newsom. This relationship stretches back to their high school years and presently takes the form of support and donations to Newsom’s political campaigns. With this close relationship well-documented, it is clear that there is more to this exception, as a recent article by Bloomberg speculates. ...

The bill provides that all fast food restaurants pay the new minimum wage, defining “fast food restaurant” as “a limited-service restaurant in the state that is part of a national fast food chain”:

“Fast food restaurant” shall not include an establishment that on September 15, 2023, operates a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment’s premises bread, as defined under Part 136 of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, so long as it continues to operate such a bakery. ..."

California’s Crony Capitalist Minimum Wage Law | Mises Institute

Argentina Offers a Textbook Study in Why Rent Controls Are a Bad Idea

Recommendable! Don't cry for me Argentina! Government price/wage/rent controls are bad ideas. Government overregulation as well! The so euphemistically called unintended (but well known) consequences are much worse most of the time!

The article is premature as the effects of deregulation on the residential housing market in Argentina are still to be forthcoming.

"... A form of tenancy rent control was introduced in Argentina in 2020 – and many British and American progressives would like to do the same. Tenancies were mandated to a minimum length of three years and permissible annual rent increases were capped at a weighted average of inflation and wage growth. Both measures aimed to provide tenants with more economic ‘security’. Landlords were still free to adjust rates between contracts, but ending tenancies prematurely was basically impossible. Deposits were capped, while rents themselves had to be paid in pesos. ..."

Argentina Offers a Textbook Study in Why Rent Controls Are a Bad Idea | Cato Institute Milei took his chainsaw to rent control and other tenancy regulations. The result has vindicated economic theory: the supply of rental accommodation is surging and rents have tumbled. In his ascent to Argentina’s presidency, Javier Milei was distinguished not just by his libertarian ideology but also for his pedagogic approach towards economics. On the campaign trail, he would regularly articulate the basic principles of market economics.

Gesetzlicher Mindestlohn soll 2024 um 41 Cent auf 12,41 Euro steigen

Der Mindestlohn, eingeführt in 2015, auch so ein schreckliches Vermächtnis der SED Kanzlerin Merkel! Sollte sofort wieder abgeschafft werden! Hier ist meine Abrechnung mit der Kanzlerin

Gesetzlicher Mindestlohn soll 2024 um 41 Cent auf 12,41 Euro steigen Seit 2015 gibt es einen gesetzlichen Mindestlohn in Deutschland. Erhöhungen wurden bisher einvernehmlich beschlossen. Doch dieses Mal kommt es zum Knall zwischen Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgebern. Es geht um 82 Cent.

How the Minimum Wage Forced Me into an Unpaid Internship

Caveat: I did not read the whole article, but the headline conveys the point!

Then there are e.g. all the jobs that are not created because of government minimum wages!

Any form of government price, wage, interest rate, rent etc. controls are to be abolished! Period! It does not work, which is well established! Or its many negative consequences are well known and very significant and outweigh it's benefits!

How the Minimum Wage Forced Me into an Unpaid Internship - Foundation for Economic Education

Biden admin to fine drug makers for price hikes faster than inflation

Government price controls are never a good idea especially not during times of price inflation! This is a very slippery slope!

Typical for the senile and demented 46th President and his largely incompetent administration!

The criterion is also seriously flawed! Prices for drugs move differently than price of other products etc. etc.!

"The Biden administration will fine drugmakers who hiked prices faster than the rate of inflation on 27 medications administered in physicians’ offices, the agency said Wednesday. ..."

Biden admin to fine drug makers for price hikes - STAT

Mayor Michelle Wu readying rent control package for Boston

Politicians never run out of bad ideas like government price, wage, and rent controls!

Once these kind of price controls are introduced they rarely go away again or are removed. Quite often these controls start reasonable, but then when they fail, they are usually tightened and fail more!

"Mayor Michelle Wu's long-discussed rent-control plans are beginning to take shape in a way largely aimed at capping year-over-year rent increases at a maximum of 10% or below."

Michelle Wu readying rent control package for Boston