Discussion - Price controls, such as one proposed on rents

Discussion

Price controls, such as one proposed on rents in Sanford in 2023 (see attached article), are an effort to impose a social value (affordable housing) on owners of apartments and houses. They often do no work as intended as the Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman noted with his pithy statement of “Roofs or Ceilings:”

Rent ceilings, therefore, cause haphazard and arbitrary allocation of space, inefficient use of space, retardation of new construction and indefinite continuance of rent ceilings, or subsidization of new construction and a future depression in residential building. Formal rationing by public authority would probably make matters still worse. https://fee.org/resources/roofs-or-ceilings-the-current-housing-problem/

If you could impose a price ceiling, name a good or service that you would like to see a ceiling (or floor) placed on and explain with a justification (do not use a good that another student has mentioned). Would there be any negative consequences? Draw a supply and demand curve (upload/attach a photo or drawing) illustrating the equilibrium price and where you would place your ceiling (or floor).