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Towards The Command And Control Economy

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by Felix Salmon
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Jul 31 2008 6:53am EDT

Towards the Command-and-Control Economy

On a day when David Weidner jokingly proposes the "no-loss sale" rule (no selling a stock for a price lower than the last trade), Barry Ritholtz has anecdotal evidence that Wachovia, for one, is refusing to let its clients short Morgan Stanley or any other entity on the no-naked-shorting list - even if they can "get a borrow". It all sounds suspiciously Chinese to me.

But why stop at preventing stocks from going down? Why not try the same thing with things you don't want to go up? Oil, corn, MRIs, school fees, a night at the St Regis -- I think it's time to implement a no-uptick rule here: force today's prices to be no higher than yesterday's price. Inflation would be whipped at a stroke, and Ben Bernanke could slash interest rates with impunity -- what's not to love?

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