Ukv
5 hours ago
> 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".