how does stopping the price increase slow anything? does this make sense to you?
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Using history as my guide in answering your question, the answer is ultimately no - price controls do not slow anything; rather, they have a propensity to compound the problem. This is a form of socialism/communism, not capitalism.

Economic History buffs will remember that when Nixon appointed Arthur Burns Fed Chairman in 1970, wage and price controls had seeped into the political dialogue... i think it was simply the populist answer to stagflation. And there are plenty of analogies to be made to where the political dialogue is moving here in 2008.

In the fall of 1971, Nixon moved ahead, making what he would later reflect on as his worst policy decision of his presidency (apart from Watergate), and implemented price controls...

By 1974, the US was staring at an +11% inflation rate, raging unemployment prospects, and the worst recession since the 30's.

This morning, Oil is testing $100/barrel, Gold $900/oz, and corn $5/bushel.

Sherlock Holmes would nail this one:
"There is nothing more deceptive, than an obvious fact"

Keith