How the Nixon Administration's Wage-Price Freeze Hurt Wisco and the Small Guy in General
Scope and Content Note: First, Wisco could not raise the price on items that were priced below an acceptable profit margin. Second, if a manufacturer had items in stock priced below what he could replace them for or below what he considered an acceptable profit margin should he attempt to replace them, he would simply not replace them (that is, not make any more, or else make them but not sell them for the duration of the price freeze), thus creating a shortage in the market place. This shortage would put the manufacturer in a position to determine which distributors would get his limited supply of a given article; naturally, he would choose to supply his biggest customers. Third, promises of wage increases to Wisco employees could not be met and employees would quit for higher paying jobs.