(AmericanProsperity.com) – Experts have come out to propose a new way to potentially prepare for the next global emergency. Isabella Weber is an economist who sparked a lot of controversy after she proposed price controls at the peak of inflation. She has proposed a new measure that would prevent food shortages and price gouging in the event of another global emergency that would disturb supply chains.
Weber wrote a paper that looked into how grain prices spiked during the COVID pandemic as we dealt with global supply chain issues. Prices were hiked to help drive profits to corporations that would push inflation even higher. Weber states in the paper that buffer stocks of grain could be released during shortages or emergencies to help ease price fluctuation.
“Literally the worst of times for global hunger seems to be the best of times for the companies managing the global trade in food staples,” Weber said. “It might seem utopian in the current environment, but there is such clear benefit in terms of economic stability that it’s not as utopian as it seems.”
This idea could be compared to Joe Biden’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which tried to limit the price spikes and collapses in the oil industry. A grain reserve could be able to set a limit on prices, which would protect consumers, but it could also shield farmers from grain prices collapsing.
“In the context of fragile democracies being cracked up by the right of far-right parties, having a way to fight inflation and contain the cost of living is really important,” Weber said. She continued, “There’s a lot of potential – instead of building walls, you prevent higher prices.”
According to experts, having buffer stocks of grain would stabilize the market and allow the prices to stop skyrocketing.
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