Gaar, Notice my useage of the word "actual" instead of "percieved"?
On Sep 22, 8:54 am, Gaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Did you READ the Article holly? > > Seems "they" did just that in the Article that I was responding to. > > Maybe you should try READING before you put your foot in your mouth, > yet again? > > On Sep 22, 6:04 am, Hollywood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > Gaar, > > > When have "they' ever failed to raise prices during an actual > > shortage? > > > On Sep 22, 4:39 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-Hidequoted > > > > text - > > > > - Show quoted text -- 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. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
