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Who sets the prices is simply not the problem. Prices were heavily discounted previously because Amazon saw it as being in their interest, apparently even to the point of making nothing on the sale of BPH Ebooks. Those days are gone and most unlikely to return. Whether agency or wholesale, lower prices will need to come from the Publishers without Amazon subsidising them. Legislation forcing the end of agency would achieve nothing.
I couldn't agree more with kennyc. Governments have no place in this market. A nightmare scenario that raises it ugly head a little higher once the precedent of government intervention is set is the implementation of a European type fixed price regime. This is of course the logical outcome of the arguments of misnamed lobby groups like "Authors United". Once books become accepted as special snowflakes because of their "cultural" importance then of course culture must be protected by leaving its guardianship in the hands of the BPH rather than evil Amazon! Why? Because!
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