You're a Piss-Poor Merchant
by
Urquhart
05/16/2008, 11:48 PM
Lemme pose this Economics 101 question:
If you can sell a baseball glove for $100, and demand suddenly increases, and you don't raise your price what happens?
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Since it's late, I'll tell you. You have a line out your door, and you don't have enough gloves, and a lot of kids go away discouraged. This is what's known as a shortage. Rationing.
Carter gas lines. The elegant thing about capitalism in economics is its rigorous efficiency. People willing to pay the price get the gas. They must have some reason to pay that price. Namely, they have the most economically efficient use for it. It will produce more among those willing to pay than it would if it were randomly distributed.
None of this diminishes the overall detrimental effect of high gas prices. A disaster for the economy. Fuck the eco-wusses, people need to drive. To produce wealth and a high standard of living.
But, if you have limited resources, that's supply and demand. You won't help matters by restricting the market.