 In the government's latest effort to ease public concerns, the State Council has made a decision to revise the "Regulations on Administrative Punishment for Illegal Price Activities." It is a short-term price control on oil products, natural gas and electricity, as well as water charges and the cost of using public transportation.
An opinion published in the Guangzhou Daily says at present, prices of primary products such as crude oil and grain are still rising on the international market, and the pressure on domestic price rises is relatively heavy. In some industries, enterprises have collaborated to hike prices by hoarding resources. They have disrupted market order and have seriously affected life of low-income people.
In a free market economy, the price should be decided by supply and demand. However, the government should not take a laissez-faire approach toward violations of laws and regulations and disruption of market order. Intensifying price management and supervision to uphold normal order in market prices and protect the interests of the consumers is essential.
Another article in the Guangzhou Daily says steadily rising house prices should be of concern to urban residents nationwide. However, few people realize that house prices are not calculated into the CPI. Home-buying is categorized as an investment, not consumption, and accordingly, does not appear on the CPI listing.
For ordinary households, rising rents and water, power and fuel costs can significantly influence people's disposable income. Measures should be taken to strictly control excessive growth in fixed-asset investments and stop structural price rises from evolving into entrenched inflation.
The last opinion comes from the Sanqin Metropolis Daily. It points out that the revised regulations on price controll intensify punishment to illegal activities by trade associations in manipulating market prices.
But punishment is not a cure-all for the overheated economy. The best solution is to prevent market disorder instead of searching for remedies after the fact.
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