--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Four things have almost invariably…" description: "\"Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a fre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg" --- # Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition… ![“Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a free market: (1) increased use of the product or service whose price is controlled, (2) Reduced supply of the same product or service, (3) quality…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg) > “Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a free market: (1) increased use of the product or service whose price is controlled, (2) Reduced supply of the same product or service, (3) quality deterioration, (4) black markets.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When prices are set below market levels, demand rises, supply falls, quality drops, and illegal markets appear. **In simple terms:** Price caps cause overuse, shortages, lower quality, and black markets. Key Takeaway Avoid price controls to prevent market distortions. Themes economics policy market regulation scarcity Mood cautious analytical Type explanatory policy When to use this quote - housing rents - energy pricing - healthcare subsidies - agricultural price floors Key Concepts price elasticity unintended consequences black markets Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives could achieve affordability without distortion? - How do you balance consumer protection with market health? A Different Perspective If controls are needed, they must be carefully targeted and monitored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Deterioration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deterioration/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Free market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-market/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Supply and demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supply-and-demand/) ## Related quotes > [Black markets exist any time there is a profit to be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-n-haass/black-markets-exist-any-time-there-is-a-profit-to-be-made/) [Richard N. Haass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-n-haass/) > [“The government in North Korea is a communist dictatorship opposed to private property and markets. But it is difficult to control black markets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/the-government-in-north-korea-is-a-communist-dictatorship-opposed-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [There is not a lot known about the informal economy, and yet it makes over 60% of the global economy. And these black markets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-van-zeller/there-is-not-a-lot-known-about-the-informal-economy-and-yet-it-makes/) [Mariana van Zeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-van-zeller/) > [A shortage is a sign that somebody is keeping the price artificially lower than it would be if supply and demand were allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/a-shortage-is-a-sign-that-somebody-is-keeping-the-price-artificially/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Food is a product of supply and demand, so try to figure out where the supplies are fresh, the suppliers are creative, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/food-is-a-product-of-supply-and-demand-so-try-to-figure-out-where-the/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Financial intelligence is made up of these four main technical skills: 1. Accounting Accounting is financial literacy, or the ability to read numbers. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/financial-intelligence-is-made-up-of-these-four-main-technical-skills/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/all-i-ever-did-was-supply-a-demand-that-was-pretty-popular/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [Be yourself on stage. Nobody else can be you and you have the law of supply and demand covered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/be-yourself-on-stage-nobody-else-can-be-you-and-you-have-the-law-of/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [Social Science, is not a 'gay science' but rueful, which finds the secret of this universe in 'supply and demand' and reduces the duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/social-science-is-not-a-gay-science-but-rueful-which-finds-the-secret/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [We need each other to do things that we can't do for ourselves. If we are intimately connected with each other, we just give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-need-each-other-to-do-things-that-we-can-t-do-for-ourselves-if-we/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The Internet doesn't change everything. It doesn't change supply and demand. It doesn't magically allow you to build businesses by turning investors' money into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grove/the-internet-doesn-t-change-everything-it-doesn-t-change-supply-and/) [Andy Grove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grove/) > [“He became convinced that ordinary commercial financing could be done for a service charge plus an insurance fee amounting to much less that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/he-became-convinced-that-ordinary-commercial-financing-could-be-done/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Supply and demand eventually rebalance. We've seen this again and again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-gorman/supply-and-demand-eventually-rebalance-we-ve-seen-this-again-and/) [James P. Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-gorman/) > [Those who love him love that he sells the most art; they take it as a point of faith that this proves Kinkade is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/those-who-love-him-love-that-he-sells-the-most-art-they-take-it-as-a/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [ \[Wise men\] have tried to understand our state of being, by grasping at its stars, or its arts, or its economics. But, if there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/wise-men-have-tried-to-understand-our-state-of-being-by-grasping-at/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they would reach under supply and demand in a free market: (1) increased use of the product or service whose price is controlled, (2) Reduced supply of the same product or service, (3) quality deterioration, (4) black markets.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Sowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/four-things-have-almost-invariably-followed-the-imposition-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/four-things-have-almost-invariably-followed-the-imposition-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6be/thomas-sowell-247_black_four-things-have-almost-invariably-follo_2747151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Four things have almost invariably followed the imposition of controls to keep prices below the level they…” — Thomas Sowell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Sowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Four things have almost invariably followed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/four-things-have-almost-invariably-followed-the-imposition-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/four-things-have-almost-invariably-followed-the-imposition-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```