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In AD 301, a Roman Emperor made a decree
He fixed the price of food and clothes
If you sold for higher, there was a death penalty
If you hoarded those goods, your blood would flow.

Since no one can manufacture below cost
Sellers disobeyed the decree
Mobs attacked them, lives were lost
Not very smart of the citizenry.

The emperor had to abdicate
hoping no blame should go to him
Damage was done, it was too late
The prospects for revival were getting dim.

There were other reasons for Rome's fall too
But if laws replace reality by desire
Rulers relearn that what's old is new
Mistakes that can bring down an empire.

Canada put price controls on drugs, it sounded so humane
Health care is a right, who cares if big Pharma feels the pain?
So the drugs they buy are invented in the USA
The hidden cost are ideas that don't see the light of day.

U.S. companies ran buses and trolleys for gain
But politicians limited prices, a magnanimous pose
So there was no money to repair and maintain.
The city took over, companies were forced to close
And taxpayers now paid through the nose.

Costs don’t go away because you refuse to pay 
And lunch is never really free
You destroy industries that way
How far do our politicians see?

In 2003, Chávez declared prices fixed
This Venezuelan leader was socialist to the core
From milk to toilet paper, the economy deep-sixed.
Products made too cheap - are then made no more.
Since nobody could recoup the costs to produce
Why bother to farm? What was the use?

In 1971, Nixon froze prices and wages.
The public were for that, said American polls
He should have read history's pages
To succeed you must set achievable goals.

Farmers drowned their chickens and ranchers would not ship cattle 
The American public only realized the mistake
When finding food in the markets became a losing battle
People learned for a while, temporarily awake.

But the lesson doesn't last - that nothing is free
Now price controls on insurance - California's decree
Whole neighborhoods went up in flame, insurance couldn't pay
When wildfires burned LA, costs borne by you and me.

Rent control is another noble lie,
First tenants love it though their landlords cry.
But supply runs out, repairs are late,
Why must bad ideas always replicate?
History warns, but who still reads?
We chase the dream—but the dream recedes.
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