time in supply ... and demand

We are moving this week, which makes it hard to do much of anything else.

Fortunately, I have DSL at both ends of the move, but unfortunately, I have little time at either end.

Since I can't do much of my own writing this month, I'll try to put up pointers to other people's good works.

I'll start with Walter Williams on socialized medicine. I like his ending so much that I'm going to blow it right here. But do read the whole article anyway.

Health care can have a zero price to the user, but that doesn't mean it's free or has a zero cost. The problem with a good or service having a zero price is that demand is going to exceed supply. When price isn't allowed to make demand equal supply, other measures must be taken. One way to distribute the demand over a given supply is through queuing -- making people wait. Another way is to have a medical czar who decides who is eligible, under what conditions, for a particular procedure -- for example, no hip replacement or renal dialysis for people over 70 or no heart transplants for smokers.

I'm wondering just how many Americans would like Canada's long waiting lists, medical czars deciding what treatments we get and an exodus of doctors.

My favorite economics writing is that which uses the most basic supply&demand rules to say things most people don't find obvious.

I'm contemplating writing a booklet on Gilligan's Island Economics -- something small, maybe $1 or $2 -- that would at least introduce people to the most basic economic literacy.