Cappin' it Up

Hawaiian politicians have made a bad decision.

HONOLULU — Hawaii will begin enforcing a cap on the wholesale price of gasoline next week, hoping to curb the sting of the nation's highest gas costs.

The limit would be the first time a state has capped the price of gasoline — a move critics warn could lead to supply shortages.

But many Hawaii residents are just looking for some relief from soaring costs.

"The gas prices that are continuing to go up — how am I supposed to afford it?" Nathan Slenk, a 25-year-old student at Kapiolani Community College, said as he pumped regular unleaded gas into his black sedan for $2.79 a gallon in Honolulu.

By artificially capping the price of fuel, the Hawaiian politicians are preventing their citizens from adjusting to the market. Do you think that Hawaiians will think, "Oh, wow, they've artificially deflated the price, we'd better make the best use of this development by using their cars sparingly?

Nope. They'll think, "Sweet! Things are back to normal! I'm going to live my life like I normally would!" The result? People will continue using fuel like it's going out of style, and the likely result will be fuel shortages.

This is bad policy, based on an extremely poor fiscal understanding. It's a very unfortunate precedent to set, and for that reason I assume that my own governor, who is an incompetent jackass, will likely implement the same measures presently.