The Colonies
Virginia and Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Economics
Massachusetts Bay Colony set wages and regulated prices because of their religion. They knew it was morally wrong to set unfair prices for the suffering people with little money. According to Wage and Price Regulations in Connecticut, "All tradesman and laborers consider the religious end of their neighbors". Every person in Massachusetts respected God and wouldn't let disobey him/her by ripping off the poor.
Virginia Colony Economics
In Virginia, Tobacco flourished like no other crop before. Tobacco sales was so popular that even the leaders got involved. In the Powerpoint, Mr. Bolos wrote that the "Colonial Assembly set the price of Tobacco. Although they set prices for Tobacco, they didn't set prices for the poor. Unlike in MBC, Virginia had a colony based off unregulated capitalism. The tradesman and laborers were in it for nothing but the money. Since the poor were so desperate, salesmen were able to sell their commodities at such a high price. In the History of Virginia, Smith says that the poor "bought our provisions at 15x the value".
Influence on USA
One of the major influences Virginia made on the USA today was the Colonial Assembly. Today we have something similar called the House of Representatives and the Senate. Another very important influence these colonies had on us was regulated capitalism. Our government regulates prices, making sure salesmen are being fair and moral.