EP, during the 1979 price rises, the New Zealand government introduced such controls. Customers were doing all sorts of tricks to maintain their supplies. Companies which didn't need oil got it, those who did, didn't. It was a shambles. We had carless days. Truly! People were allowed to drive their cars every second day. Odd number plates on one day, even the next. Insane.
Governments just love rules, bureaucracy, rationing, carbon credits, more government departments, extra layers of rules, many committees for multitudes of processes.
All that useless and counterproductive stupidity which ends up doing more harm than good can be replaced by the eons-old supply and demand equations with price as the arbiter.
Even now, in the non-free market of the USA, there is whining about "gouging" by flu vaccine suppliers. Lobster prices are also at gouging levels. Any scarce resource has prices at high enough levels to reduce demand.
High prices attract new suppliers. The prices make those who don't really need the vaccine do without. Those who think they really need it, will pay the price. Simple.
No need for big, fat, stupid government departments running CO2 exchanges at great cost, especially for the non-problem of CO2, which is a good thing.
Mqurice |
