Thursday, May 03, 2007

Economics, California-style

So this whole MacArthur Maze collapse has put a wrench into the commute plans of tens of thousands of Bay Area residents.

The curious step, though, was Governor Schwarzenegger authorizing free public transit the Monday after the collapse. First off-- if that's the solution, why only one day?

But more importantly-- is making it free the answer? Demand for public transit shot up; shouldn't the price rise? Then administrators shrug their shoulders when parking lots overflow, acting as if there was nothing they could do about it.

The same thing happens during natural disasters; price caps accompany any number of "essential" goods, and then policy-makers are left baffled as to why no one can get anything.