A Solution to Oil Shortages
Some of us remember the the late seventies, when there were
lines at the pump and rationing of gasoline. But the problem
of oil shortages isn't just about the inconvenience. Numerous
elderly people actually died in the New York City area because
of a lack of heating oil, and many people thought it would only
get worse, that we would run out of oil completely before long.
However, at the same time, gold and many other things much
rarer than oil were available to anyone who wanted them. They
always are, and this gives us a clue to what causes an oil shortage,
or any other shortage. Normally, it is just one thing.
Shortages Are Caused by Price Controls
Almost all long term shortages of basic commodities in a modern
economy are caused by price controls. Unfortunately, other than
economists, not many people know this. Voters clamor for price
controls when prices rise, and these controls then cause shortages.
They cause them in about ten ways. What follows is examples of
three of these ways.
1. Under price controls, the law said that oil producers couldn't
sell oil for more than a certain amount. Naturally they immediately
closed wells that were producing at a cost higher than that.
This reduced the supply of oil, and reducing the supply sure
isn't a cure for a shortage, is it? Of course you wouldn't pay
your boss to work for him, so why would a company pump oil at
a loss?
2. Because they had a price limit, they sold more to closer
customers. It saved them money on delivery costs, and explains
why heating oil was in short supply in New York, which is far
from the major oil fields. Place farther away had worse shortages.
3. Because prices were held artificially low, some couldn't
get heating oil or gasoline, other's wasted gas on pleasure trips
they might not have taken if the price were higher. Of course
this further reduced supply. If gas was $20 a gallon you might
travel less, right? The same principle is true at any price point.
A Solution
Price controls force a misallocation of resources. Ordinarily
the market determines where the oil goes. If it's to expensive,
people cut back on pleasure trips, but nobody dies for a lack
of heating oil. The high price also brings about it's own resolution,
because now it becomes profitable to drill more wells, to make
electric cars, and otherwise develop new technologies.
Imagine an extreme example for a moment. If the law said no
gas could be sold for more than 30 cents a gallon, no other transportation
technology could compete with gasoline-powered cars, so none
would be developed. Also, no new wells would be dug, so we'd
quickly run out the existing supply. Having no alternatives developed,
it would be a catastrophe. Simply letting prices go up and down
naturally according to market forces is the solution to this
or any oil shortage.
Consider that some of the rarest things on the planet are
available to you all the time - if you pay the price. All the
gold in the world could be put in a large barn, and yet you can
buy gold anytime you want. It is only price controls that cause
lasting shortages. Remember this the next time there are shortages
in a basic commodity, despite the government's best efforts.
In the end, all their efforts are just politics, and if there
is an oil shortage, you can be sure that they caused it.
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