Progressive politicians want to ban restaurants from adjusting prices based on demand—even when no one’s actually doing it.
Gig companies like Uber and Lyft have popularized the economic concept of dynamic pricing (also known as "surge pricing"), making it a common phenomenon in our modern economy. Now, some restaurants are also considering more advanced dynamic pricing models, which has led to intense pushback from the political left.
In 2024, fast-food chain Wendy's made waves with an announcement that it was investing $20 million in digital menus, which would allow the company to utilize dynamic pricing to adjust prices depending on the time of day or consumer demand levels. In the face of public backlash, Wendy's claimed that it was never considering true surge pricing—i.e., raising food prices when demand was highest—but rather might use the digital menus to offer discounts during slower times of the day.
Despite Wendy's seeming backtrack, progressive politicians have wasted no time in declaring war against dynamic food pricing. Earlier this year, Democratic state lawmakers in Maine pushed a bill to ban dynamic pricing in all restaurants and grocery stores in the state. This was done even though no restaurants in Maine were actually employing dynamic pricing models.
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C. Jarrett Dieterle is a legal policy fellow for the Manhattan Institute.
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