....ultimately limited by the states. States reserve the right to set the wage limit. That said, it likely won't stop the Federal government from trying.
Answer:
In a free-market system, consumers and producers have sovereigns that drive the market and decisions made to ensure that supply and demand are stabilized. Consumers have options. Because of this, they have access to goods that they demand at competitive prices.
When inflation goes up, the spending power of the people decreases. Actually the income of the people remains the same and the product price tend to increase and the people have less money in their hands. This means the people will have less spending power and so they will try and curtail their spending as much as they can.