"Price gouging." That is a vague and meaningless term. Do they have teams of finance experts and accountants going through the books of companies looking at their costs of production and distribution, their pricing strategies, the same thing for every competitor in an industry? How else would you determine if they were "gouging"?
Are companies raising prices in advance of expected price increases by their suppliers? Is an anticipatory price increase "gouging"? Is slapping a "fuel surcharge" on your delivery costs "gouging"?
I HATE and LOATHE all government weenies looking for a boogieman scapegoat for their own malfeasance. They need to look no further than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. The man who lives there has single-handedly destroyed the economy.
I think this is in anticipation of a rumor that’s floating about right now. Walmart is going to have a 40% price increase in the next few weeks.
Aldi’s did that in Europe a few weeks ago up to 50%.
Kemp may be anticipating the inflationary increase and thinks an EO will absolve him.