Oct.10.2008
12:29 am
by dougfromeagan
Gas Hits Low? How can this be? FREE MARKET! (kind of)
By DougfromEagan / www.politicalgravitas.com
I just got gas tonight and I paid $2.80 a gallon. A few miles away in Lakeville it’s going for $2.75 per gallon!
How can this price drop be happening? I thought the greedy oil companies were to blame? WAIT!!! It’s a Republican conspiracy remember! The oil companies (Bush’s Cronies) want John McCain to win the presidency and keep their buddies in charge! I haven’t heard that one this time around yet, but it will come just give it a few days.
The wonderful and terrible truth (depending on who you are) is that “the market” will take control over prices of goods and services no matter what government protections are in place and no matter how socialists wish it not to be so. The time the market takes to correct the price is the only effect that governments control over protected prices. Gas of course for example is now plummeting. Why? Well It’s certainily not George Bush’s talk with the Saudis that made a difference.
You and I make all the difference in the world.
Us, American consumers, Chinese consumers, all consumers. We set pricing by our buying habits, by our saving habits, by the very act of staying at home one more night than we usually do. When the consumers of 25% of the energy in the world start to cut back on energy consumption, it sends the market signals that determine a trillion different and unique next steps in the Nations economy and the worlds economies. If you have Wheaties today or Rice Checks your are again telling (as economist professor, Adam Smith would say) “the invisible hand”, the natural guide of economic markets what to do next.
This natural process is a reaction to our self interests, whether they be for the betterment of our selves our families and even our businesses. We all send signals to each other on what to do next. Some governments and philosophies may try to change this process with government regulation and positive and punitive tax incentives, but they are once again only a hurdle for the market to overcome and in most cases circumvent as best it can.
In conclusion, we can say that the best laid plans by government will be faulty because bureaucrats are not as smart as millions of individuals that are experts in their fields. Unintended consequences of government actions no matter how well thought out will be devastating.
Filed in Shaking Down Socialistic Squirrels and other nuts!, Socialism VS. FREEDOM! |
Free markets are especially efficient in the the use of fungible goods, which oil is.