You can tell the FR members who have never had to truly worry about how they are going to pay their bills show up. Apparently neither of you have ever been a position where you couldn’t afford to put gas in your car. While I completely understand the concept posted and the logic behind it - there is a fine line between the free-market solution and the punishing of those who are less financially blessed.
Having recently been in a position that every penny was spoken for, and fueling the vehicle just to get to work and make just enough to scrape by, I can see how some people would be completely buried if gas were jacked to $8 just to stem the demand.
And not everyone has access to public transportation (not available anywhere near here), and no ride share possible because of the only work there was to do at the time...
The Lord has blessed us and we are now moving and are back with a steady and adequate paycheck - and $8 per gallon for a short time would not represent a finance-crashing event. But had gasoline been $8 here, even for a couple of weeks - we would have fallen desperately in a hole - as I could not have afforded to even GO to work...
And please, no lectures on personal finance - been there and I am completely aware of many means of managing such - and it is our careful management that kept us afloat. $8 per gallon would have sunk that boat.
So accusing me of being a Democrat stooge, or someone from a the MSM is no more appropriate than my initial response (asking about gas station ownership).
There is a difference between free-market and predatory... And shutting down those who already have a very hard time paying for $3.70-4.00 gas by jacking the price is nothing but fuel (pardon the pun) for the leftists who want to shut down all free-market enterprise...
It seems the choices are:
1) Free market which will let the price rise until the demand falls and the supply increases
2) Price controls (and this over zealous anti-gouging laws are just that) which results in lower prices and shortages of gasoline
3) Government subsidy where tax payers fund gasoline for others
The reality is that there is always people on the edge of liquidity and price increases will put them under. It has already happened to some when prices hit $4.
My family has in the past crossed below that line in years past. We have also helped others when we were blessed and they were struggling.
Can you think of another option beside the three above?
I've had to worry about that many times, including recently. I'm not rich, and $8 gas for more than a week or two would be quite unpleasant.
There is a difference between free-market and predatory...
Not when it comes to pricing, there's not. You're subscribing to "just price theory" - a socialist fallacy. Predatory behavior would mean wrecking another station's gas pumps, or blocking the entrance to their pumps, or using extortion, force, or coercion to force other station owners to sell at a certain price. Setting the price where the market puts it is simply smart, and it's good for the market as a whole.
So accusing me of being a Democrat stooge, or someone from a the MSM is no more appropriate than my initial response (asking about gas station ownership).
It's exactly as appropriate as your initial response, and was designed to exactly mirror it. I think it worked.
And shutting down those who already have a very hard time paying for $3.70-4.00 gas by jacking the price is nothing but fuel (pardon the pun) for the leftists who want to shut down all free-market enterprise...
So we should only shut down *some* free-market enterprise?
The point here isn't *what* the price of gas should be in any given situation. It's *who* should be making those decisions. I believe the decision about what price gas is sold for should be made by the owner of that gas (the gas station, etc.), not - ever - by a third party like the government.