----- Original Message ----- From: "Nick Arnett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 4:39 PM Subject: Re: Gas Prices
>A rather different sort of ethics -- one that I greatly prefer than what I >see as idolization of free market economics. It's amazing to see people talking past each other when I think I can clearly see what is being said both ways. Let's look at gasoline supply. After Katrina, the prices went up, because supply was disrupted. The rise in prices discourages demand, thus allowing most people who are willing to pay a higher price to get gasoline, to obtain that gasoline as they need it. If prices do not go up.....and thus reduce demand, then some other mechanism is needed to allocate gasoline. When prices have been controlled in the '70s, the results were long lines at the gas pumps....which actually increased demand for several obvious reasons. So, even though some people will be hit hard by the increase in prices, I see allowing the market to function as the least bad alternative we have. The libertarian argument for this is based on principals that markets are inherently more moral than government intervention. A truly conservative argument is that, for all of its flaws, the market does a much better job of allocating gasoline in most cases than does the government. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
