Prices in USSR

A meme on reddit inspired me to write about pricing of the goods in the politicized economy of the USSR.

they priced goods cheap (cheaper than market value) because people like lower prices more than higher prices and government wanted to be popular and brag how they care more about working class by offering them goods at cheaper prices compared to fat cat greedy capitalist who bleed people dry to buy themselves another mansion

that had a predictable (for an economist) economic outcome of there being constant goods shortage (deficit was a word used a lot in USSR, every Joe Shmoe knew it): empty shelves in most stores and ques. When something good suddenly appears in stores it gets bought out almost immediately and only some unpopular shit sticks around.

however, government managed to take credit for low prices without being blamed for shortages. People were not economically savvy enough to associate artificially low prices with constant goods shortages, so even Gorby built his popularity on keeping prices down.

In 1991, when Yeltsin ended price regulation, prices gone up, but shortages ended. Some die hard commies still blame him for "robbing the people" by doing that. The country went from people have money to buy, but there is nothing to buy; towards there are goods to buy now, but people do not have (enough) money to buy them.