[dragnet2]

Lots of private water companies. They should up their prices 4000x. Same with the food producers. Why not, right?

[Alberta's Child]

Most "private water companies" I've dealt with operate under a franchise agreement with a government agency -- which means they are heavily regulated and must get regulatory approval to raise their rates.

Food producers are a different story. For most food products grown here in the U.S., the market conditions are so heavily tilted towards the consumer that farms can't even exist without massive government subsidies. In addition, raw food products are sold on spot markets where the seller doesn't have much of a say in the price at all. If I have 100 head of cattle and I tell my buyers that they now cost $1 million apiece, then they'll buy cattle from someone else.