I recently wrote that, since prices convey information, "price-gougers" keep shortages from happening. Economist Walter Williams agrees with me:
Suppose a family evacuating Houston chose to make a 146-mile drive to stay with relatives in Austin. Their car has a half a tank of gasoline -- plenty to get to Austin -- but just to be safe, they decide to fill up. What do you think they might do if they expected to pay $2.75 a gallon but when they got to the gas station they found the gas selling for $3.75? I bet they'd say, "The heck with that; we'll fill up in Austin."That's wonderful; they've voluntarily made gas available for someone running out of gas. In my book, for a motorist who's running on empty, gas available at $3.75 a gallon is preferable to gas being unavailable at $2.75 a gallon.
He points the finger at Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, too. Good going!
Posted by Craig Ceely at October 2, 2005 03:37 PM