The Nanny State
Filed Under: Canadian Affairs
The price of gasoline is somewhat of a volatile subject (pun intended) these days and understandably so. One only has to listen to the griping at the local gas station for evidence of that. So it was with interest that I found this editorial in the National Post.
Stop the presses! Ontario NDP MPP Gilles Bisson has an astounding idea for eliminating “pump shock”: Allow the government to regulate the price of gas.One would think that Mr. Bisson and his Bolshie boo-ya chorus would learn a thing or two from Atlantic Canada, where similar schemes have been adopted. In New Brunswick, which adopted gas-price regulation on July 1, independent gasoline retailers shut off their pumps on Tuesday to protest the government-mandated price, which they claim is too low to permit profitable operation. The result: reduced supply and long lines.
The editorial goes on to ask “…why stop at gas”? Why not regulate the price of bread or lumber while we’re at it? Indeed. The degree to which government interferes in the affairs of private enterprise in this country is already at an appalling level. We certainly don’t need them dictating pricing policy. Any school kid is aware of the principles of supply and demand and how it relates to life in the modern world. Besides, regulating the price of fuel is a rather simplistic approach designed to appeal to our emotional side. There are many factors involved in the process most of which are beyond our control.
Do I like liberating huge gobs of cash from my wallet to purchase gasoline? Of course not. Am I pissed just thinking about it? You bet I am. But this Soviet-esque approach to the problem is not the way to go. Have we learned nothing from history?
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