After getting whacked by a hurricane, the poor citizens of New York and New Jersey have to suffer the added indignity of government price controls on gasoline. It is not the hurricane and associated supply disruption per se causing the terrible shortages and lines, but rather the government's interference with the price allocation mechanism of the free market. This is exactly what happened in the 1970s, and it is disturbing that Governor Chris Christie--considered by many to be a strong conservative Republican candidate for 2016--is stooping to such blatant restrictions that defy basic economics.
