Shortages of gasoline are developing in North Carolina. I just passed a station where I saw people filling several gasoline cans in addition to their car tanks. My best guess is that this is occuring because gasoline is under priced, that’s right under priced. And it is under priced because gas station owners are in fear of being charged with “price gouging.” North Carolina has price controls on gasoline–that is, laws against so-called price gouging. The best thing the Governor can do right now to avoid shortages is to lift NC’s price controls on gasoline. Indeed every state in the union should be doing the same thing. High prices in a situation like this are not about greedy gas station owners, they are about protecting society from greedy consumers. The higher the cost of hording the less of it will take place. Now more than ever we need price gougers.
by Locker Room contributor