It’s time for another exciting episode of, Stupid or Socialist.

The US Congress will vote next week on legislation barring “excessive” or “exploitative” fuel prices.

“Price gouging needs to be stopped,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday after announcing the bill. “This is a major exploitation of the consumer.”

It marks the latest attempt by Democrats to tame sky-high energy costs before facing inflation-weary votes at the polls in November. Retail gasoline prices has been rising for nearly three weeks, reaching new records for each of the past three days.

“The Putin tax-cut hike at the pump is a part of this,” Pelosi said. “And you would think that the oil companies would compensate for that rather than exploit the opportunity.”

The bill, called the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, would also give the Federal Trade Commission the power to issue penalties for price gouging, according to a summary of the legislation.

Sure. Just make it illegal to raise gas prices. 

I’m sure that will in no way lead to massive shortages and black market sales.

If you think lines and prices are bad now, try making it so that the only way to get gas is to either wait on line for three hours or pay Julio to fill your car up for $10 a gallon on the sly.

The  Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act is utterly bizarre. It states that, It shall be unlawful for any person to sell a consumer fuel, at wholesale or retail, in an area and during a period of an energy emergency covered by a proclamation issued under paragraph (2) at a price that– (A) is unconscionably excessive; and (B) indicates the seller is exploiting the circumstances related to an energy emergency to increase prices unreasonably.

How is unconscionably excessive defined?

Whether the amount charged by such person grossly exceeds the average price at which the consumer fuel was offered for sale by such person during– (I) the 30-day period before the date on which the proclamation was issued; or (II) another appropriate benchmark period, as determined by the Commission.

So we’ve got a bill criminalizing a price based on a benchmark determined by a commission. 

Beyond that it essentially criminalizes raising gas prices.

I’m sure that will solve everything. Once it becomes illegal to raise gas prices why then companies will just sell gas at whatever price they’re told. That’s how price controls work? And then we’ll all have cheap gas and can print another trillion dollars to give away to Biden’s voters and donors.