Necessary Roughness

The New York Times reports that “President Bush called on Americans yesterday to conserve gasoline by driving less. He also issued a directive for all federal agencies to cut their own energy use and to encourage employees to use public transportation.”

It would seem that the only President ever to hold a Masters in Business Administration has forgotten basic economic principles. Price is a force in and of itself that limits usage. The President by his actions is attempting to lower demand artificially, and thus lower the incentive for people to use less! I would understand such antics from a peanut farmer, but from a Harvard grad? By making an arbitrary statement regarding what he feels is a fair price, the President ignores the decision making processes of millions of Americans each day.