Some of our local stations have bagging the pumps on speculation of the storm.
Peace, Doc On Sep 22, 5:43 am, margareth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In a free market economy, the regulating factor is the price.It is the > price which determines the amount of goods that will be supplied. It > is the slope of the demand curve (elasticity) which predicts the > effect. If substitution allows people to change their habits, the > demand curve will be much less steep. [paraphased from the Wealth of > Nations} In a free economy all people have the freedom to choose how > they will spend their paychecks. Unfortunately if the government > steps in to 'prevent gouging' the supply will dry up. As suppliers > find that they cannot compete at the controlled price, they close > down. During a regional weather event, the best thing to do is leave > the car parked. If travel is reduced, or the public transit option is > excercised, there are savings to be made. During the seventies at a > time of high inflation, I think it was Willy Brandt, in Germany that > pointed out if wage and price controls were to be introduced, the most > likely result would be a black market. It was exactly that which lead > to the demise of the Soviet Union. Many of the factory managers > arranged for necessary goods to disappear, to be sold at higher prices > than the official government price. the only way to avoid that > situation is to ration the commodity,, and in the case of the USSR, > that also failed. > > On Sep 22, 5:39 am, Gaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > So when they don't raise prices during shortages, they are being > > irresponsible. > > > But when they do raise prices during such things, then they are > > gouging... > > > They can't Win for Losing. > > > On Sep 21, 9:30 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > The Truth About Gasoline Shortagesby Gary North > > > On Saturday afternoon, September 20, my daughter, who lives in Nashville, > > > called my wife, who was visiting in Atlanta. She knew that my wife had > > > planned to return to the Memphis area by way of Nashville. She told my > > > wife to be sure to fill up her gas tank in Atlanta, because there was a > > > major gasoline shortage in Nashville. > > > My wife went out to fill her gas tank, and she found that she could not > > > find a gas station with gas for sale. She called me to warn me. I > > > immediately went to the local gas station. They had no premium gas, but > > > they did have unleaded regular. I filled up my tank. > > > I came home and did a search on the web, and I found a story about the > > > shortage in Nashville. The story said that a rumor of an imminent > > > shortage had swept Nashville, and people lined up their cars to fill up > > > their tanks. My daughter said that she had been in a long line herself. > > > She was able to fill her gas tank, but shortly thereafter, the gasoline > > > station manager placed "empty" signs on the pumps. > > > Here we have a classic example of rationing by lining up. A week before, > > > there had been a regional gasoline shortage as a result of fears > > > regarding Hurricane Ike and the possibility that gasoline refineries in > > > Texas would be shut down for months. Some gas stations raised prices, but > > > others refused. The ones that refused ran out of gas. People sat in their > > > cars for half an hour or longer in the hope of getting to a pump, and > > > filled up their tanks. > > > Before the weekend was over, President Bush went on national television > > > and warned against gasoline stations that gouged consumers. He said that > > > there would be an investigation regarding accusations of gasoline > > > stations that raised prices on Friday. > > > The message got through this weekend. Instead of raising prices, in an > > > attempt to reduce demand for gasoline, thereby allocating gasoline that > > > was in short supply by means of price, station managers simply let people > > > fill up their tanks until the pumps were empty. Anyone who wanted > > > gasoline after that was out of luck. > > > This is rationing by lining up. It is the alternative to rationing by > > > price. Rationing by lining up creates no financial incentive for > > > suppliers of the item in short supply to allocate new supplies to the > > > region of the country which is experiencing a shortage. Instead, delivery > > > schedules remain the same as they did prior to the shortage. This > > > continues the shortage. > > > Whenever there are complaints about price gouging during a period of a > > > shortage, sellers get the message. The next time there is a shortage, > > > they hesitate to raise prices. They shift to the other allocation system: > > > first come, first served. This subsidizes people who have a low value on > > > their time. People who place a high value on their time prefer to pay > > > extra money in order to attain their goals. But this is made illegal by > > > the state. So, the shortage lasts longer than it would otherwise have > > > lasted. > > > The official goal of the government is to make certain that everyone has > > > access to the item in short supply. The government says that raising > > > prices during a shortage is unfair. So, the result is the opposite of > > > what the government's official justification was for holding prices down. > > > There is an even greater shortage, because people buy more of the item > > > than they need immediately. They have no incentive to reduce their > > > consumption, thereby making available applies to those who were at the > > > end of the line. There is no incentive for anyone at the front of the > > > line to refrain from filling his gasoline tank. So, gasoline runs out > > > before the line runs out. > > > This happens with regularity. All it takes is a rumor to create massive > > > demand for the item that is believed to be in short supply. There is no > > > pricing arrangement that alerts people to the crisis. Instead, long lines > > > appear in the front of gasoline stations. As soon as the long lines > > > appear, people panic, and line up to get gasoline even though they do not > > > have empty tanks. This is exactly what I did as soon as I heard about the > > > shortage. I had half a tank, but I went to my local gasoline station and > > > filled up. I found that there was no premium gasoline available. That was > > > not a problem, since I use unleaded regular. But I did note that there > > > was a shortage of premium, and this encouraged me to fill up my tank. > > > The public refuses to learn. The public is incensed against people who > > > raise prices in a crisis, that is, people who respond to increasing > > > demand by large numbers of buyers. The critics do not like the principle > > > of the auction: high bid wins. The critics prefer another principle: > > > first come, first served. The second principle offers no incentives for > > > suppliers to increase production. > > > Once again, we learn that the free-market principles of open competition > > > and high bid wins cannot be thwarted without negative > > > repercussions.http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north655.html-Hide quoted > > > text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
