# Can a government compel a business to raise its prices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503 "2012-08-24T16:58:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/41 "2012-08-27T14:49:43Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > [hijack] It also made me wonder why we weren’t inundated by cheap Russian vodka. Since I noticed once that despite the names or use of cyrillic character most of the vodka sold in France was in fact made in France, I began to check this up, and I’m yet to find a _single_ bottle of Russian vodka. French, Polish, Swedish, Italian, whatever…but never Russian 😕 [/hijack] It’s not exactly cheap vodka (although it’s not expensive, either), but you guys don’t get Stolichnaya (aka “Stoli”) out there in France? Stoli is pretty common here in the US, if not ubiquitous. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/42 "2012-08-27T15:18:56Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > My bet is almost always on the employees making up shit. I’ll go with this. I just asked another employee, and he gave me a completely different answer. He said that drinks were more expensive because Coke raised their prices. The increase in everything else was because the owner did it on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/43 "2012-08-27T15:37:42Z")
> [@fumster](#): > > This Concur. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/44 "2012-08-27T16:49:27Z")
+3 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/45 "2012-08-27T17:26:15Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > The Russian government passed a law (earlier this year, I think) setting a minimum price for vodka. This minimum price was absurdly low (something on the order of €2/half liter). No surprise that the alcohol consumption in Russia is so high. The bottom of the barrel Russian vodka isn’t much different from rotgut moonshine. Forcing an increase in vodka prices was done in a half-hearted attempt to get consumers of that stuff to voluntarily switch to a now-just-as-expensive-but-slightly-less-blindy brand of vodka. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/46 "2012-08-27T19:04:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Sometimes dine-in meals aren’t charged sales tax while take-out food is. Or freshly prepared food might be free of tax while packaged items like a can of soda or a bag of chips are not. My girlfriend was in a sandwich shop where she saw a sign saying that if you’re paying with food stamps, you can’t get your sandwich toasted. I assume this is because if it’s untoasted it can be claimed to be groceries while if it’s toasted it’s prepared food. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/47 "2012-08-27T21:36:31Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > My girlfriend was in a sandwich shop where she saw a sign saying that if you’re paying with food stamps, you can’t get your sandwich toasted. I assume this is because if it’s untoasted it can be claimed to be groceries while if it’s toasted it’s prepared food. Food stamps can’t be used for hot food. It also can’t be used for food that will be eaten in the store, but there’s some ways around that like making sure people using food stamps don’t dine in etc. Also IIRC, restaurants can allow certain people to use them like regular customers under certain circumstances. But I’m not a restaurant so I never looked into that. Either way, under normal circumstances, no hot food with food stamps. Interestingly enough, if the food was toasted earlier and put in a cooler to chill to, say, under 41 degrees, the customer could probably buy it with food stamps. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/48 "2012-08-27T21:42:02Z")
Missed the edit. At my store, we’ll accept food stamps for iced coffee but not hot coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503/49 "2012-08-27T23:56:42Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Food stamps can’t be used for hot food. > > It also can’t be used for food that will be eaten in the store, but there’s some ways around that like making sure people using food stamps don’t dine in etc. I was close, then. This was not an establishment with seats or tables, anyway. Rerailing somewhat, I’ve noticed the state of New York charged me sales tax on corn syrup but not molasses. I’m not sure of the distinction, but if anything I’d do it the opposite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-government-compel-a-business-to-raise-its-prices/632503.md?page=2)