5 pointsby mhb11 hours ago1 comment
  • jwarden11 hours ago
    I remember being so upset reading Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics, which starts with a very clear and concise review of the basics of supply, demand, surplus and shortage, which leads directly to an overwhelmingly simple and convincing case against price controls. And the tremendous damage that they cause.

    And yet people almost universally support price controls (e.g. laws against price gouging) during catastrophes.

    It makes me think that either I'm missing something, or that it is a shame that every single voting citizen doesn't understand basic economics.

    • jefftk11 hours ago
      I do think the world would likely be better off without price controls during catastrophes, but I also think disasters are one of the places where they're least harmful: they're temporary situations, and also the normal assumptions around information and competition etc are less applicable.