While I agree with these economic ideals can work this way, it also has a lot of assumptions. Many folks who make these claims are naive or lying and rarely preface by saying they assume an ideal world with consumers and suppliers that are all operating rationally with (near) perfect competition with low and equal startup costs for suppliers entering new areas. These ideals also assumes that any new suppliers can and will significantly lower their prices to remain competitive, driving down costs.

> That’s because high prices are an essential way to ensure that resources get where they are desperately needed. [...]

In a vacuum, if all else is fixed, it would be true that those willing to pay more for a resource are those with greater need for it, but in reality a person's income/savings is a huge factor in how much they're willing/able to pay.

Price hikes can inhibit necessary usage by the less wealthy while barely doing anything to discourage unnecessary usage by the wealthy. I think the "let the free market take care of it" approach fails as a form of rationing because it biases resource allocation away from those who are most likely to truly have no other option.

A first-come-first-served rush isn't great either, but it isn't the only alternative. Flights allocated based on danger of area and availability of other transport options, for instance - it won't be perfect, but would be more in the right direction.

> True, the rising price of goods like gasoline can create problems for consumers, particularly the poor. But these drawbacks are negligible [...]

The "problems for consumers, particularly the poor" include, for instance, dying due lack of means to escape. That the less wealthy are disproportionately affected by natural disasters is a primary issue, not a footnote to discard as "negligible".

Ah, an economist from George Mason. Say no more. I expect he has no children due to the negative economic impact of child rearing.

For those who have not read the article because a paywall workaround has not yet been posted, or who would prefer a summary, the key point was summarized here [1].

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41787749

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