It has been a disheartening election for economists. Virtually every day brings a policy proposal that violates basic economic principles

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It has been a disheartening election for economists. Violations of good economic principles are legion. Here are the 10 dumbest.

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1. National rent control: An NDP proposal, naturally. Sounds great in the short run: Zap!, my rent can’t go up. But in the long run there will be shortages. Who wants to build and operate rental accommodations when the government can zap-cap your price?

2. Frozen food prices: Same party, same policy, this time in the form of emergency price caps on basic foodstuffs like pasta, frozen vegetables and infant formula. Same result: cap prices and you get shortages. Europe seems to produce left-wing politicians who nevertheless understand the basics of supply and demand. Why can’t we?

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3. Sacred supply management: All the leaders swear they’ll maintain a system that gives a few thousand dairy and poultry producers monopoly power over the supply........

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