This made me think of this.

From the NYTimes: “Zimbabwe’s economy is so dire that bread vanished from store shelves across the country on Wednesday after bakeries shut down, saying government price controls were requiring them to sell loaves at a loss. The price controls are supposed to shield consumers from the nation’s rampant inflation, which now averages nearly 1,600 percent annually.”

From the poem, “The Incredible Bread Machine”:

Now bread is baked by government.

And as might be expected,

Everything is well controlled.

The Public well protected.

True, loaves cost a dollar each,

But our leaders do their best!

The selling price is half a cent.

Taxes pay the rest.