Possibly the worst idea ever

Robert Hamlin at Radio NZ writes:

As public utilities, individual supermarket sites should only be allowed to charge a single fixed and publicly stated margin on the goods they sell. This is a novel requirement, but it is core to the process of regulating a supermarket as a utility.

Think about how crazy this is. He is saying the Government should basically set all food prices in New Zealand. Any promotions, specials etc would be banned. Prices could not reflect demand. Supermarkets would have to apply the same margin to something they buy half a dozen of as to the stuff they sell 1,000 of a day.