The fundamental problem with government-imposed price controls is that they rely on magical thinking and thus always are doomed to create far more harm than they can possibly justify. When producers are forced to sell at a net loss it's obvious that either (i) taxpayer subsidies must be used to keep those producers functioning, which is wasteful and inefficient, or (ii) those producers will go out of business, thus removing from the world the products they formerly made, or (iii) the government must turn a blind eye to whatever black market activities the producers undertake in order to generate some kind of profit.

There are no other options. Hence, price controls always result in massive inefficiencies and shortages over the longer term. Unfortunately, we humans have brains adapted only for the shortest term and have no capacity to comprehend causal chains. Price controls, therefore, are invariably popular with ordinary people because they appear to offer a magic way to get free ice-cream forever. By the time reality supervenes, it's always far too late.....