Capitalism Or Gouging?

Americans are funny. They support "free" markets in Iraq so that Shell and Exxon can take over the oil fields, but they get upset when the "free" market in America results in a rise in gas prices for them. Iraqis now stand in line for hours to get a liter of petrol, while Americans who call that "freedom" get indignant if their gas lines are more than two cars deep. "Free" is a convenient description for wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Last I checked, capitalism means that someone who owns a product can sell it at whatever price he chooses. And, it is your choice as a buyer whether to pay the price or go elsewhere. For example, Nike tennis shoes sell for $150 when it only costs $5 to make them, but no one complains about price gouging. Diamonds, the most arbitrarily valued item in the world, are outrageously priced, but no one calls for price caps. The counterargument is that gas prices should be controlled because fuel is a necessity. So are houses, however, and we all know about the affordability of housing in most of America these days.

What needs to be controlled, and what I hope America learns from this disaster, is American gluttony. Now that plane tickets may increase and plastic bags that are wasted day in and day out may actually come at a price, Americans are complaining about the immorality of the gas station owners and demanding that the government step in to protect the economy. When it comes to being able to drive fuel-inefficient SUV's, even the supposedly "freedom supporting" President is proclaiming his intolerance for price "gouging." This bandwagon of socialist/communism supporters are the same people who, with a straight face and despite massive evidence to the contrary, still think that America is supporting freedom in Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/ts_nm/weather_katrina_probe_dc

Instead of worrying about everyone else in the world, it's time to clean up our own backyard. Hurricane Katrina, with all the tragedies it has wrought, should be a sobering reminder that natural resources will not last forever, should not be wasted and that Americans have the capacity to destroy their own freedoms long before any terrorists get to us.