Since formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination in August 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris has centered her anti-inflation agenda on combating price gouging—announcing that, if elected, she would advance the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries. Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout shared her expert opinion with The Washington Times on why a national ban of price gouging is necessary.
Zephyr Teachout, who teaches classes on the intersection of corporate and political power at Fordham University School of Law, said a national ban on price gouging is necessary to put businesses on notice that there will be penalties for trying to rip off consumers. She said it’s hard to know how widespread price gouging is because the most thorough investigations are conducted by state attorneys general, whose power is limited.
“No state attorney general can follow the supply chain trail, so we don’t know how prevalent it is. We need to investigate it, and federal investigations would allow us to see how prevalent it is,” she said. “If it’s not happening, there’s no harm in doing it.”