Let us look at pricesetting. A firm may be forbidden to increase the price it charges for its washing machine model 70237. It can then phase out that model, introduce a new model 70238 with some minor variations, and increase its price. It is virtually impossible for the government to rule on each of the myriad of resulting cases. There is another difficulty.
Inflation is the price of all goods taken together.
Even when there is little or no inflation in the overall price level, relative prices of different goods are constantly changing. The prices of computers have declined and the prices of haircuts have increased over the last twenty years. If price controls are to remain in force over any extended period of time, they must allow for these changes in relative prices. If they do not, shortages will develop for those goods whose prices are kept below their equilibrium level. On the basis of these and other examples I conclude that most of the billions of economic decisions which are taken in a modern economy, should be taken by households and firms in their roles as buyers and sellers in markets.