The market knows best

The government doesn't have any business meddling in the affairs of private businesses unless laws are being broken. With that in mind, what do you think about this feel-good mandate from Florida politicians designed to trick voters into believing that they are cared about by their government?...

After Hurricane Wilma swept through Florida in 2005, causing massive power outages, one frustration was gas stations that had fuel but no way to pump it.

Last year, the Florida Legislature came up with a fix: a law requiring hundreds of gas stations near evacuation routes to be wired for a generator hookup or have a generator installed by the beginning of the 2007 hurricane season.

Shouldn't this be up to the individual station owners? Why should the government mandate that stations guarantee access to fuel during an evacuation? Is it not the responsibility of the evacuee to fill up his tank before hand? If a station owner has the entrepreneurial foresight to install a generator, he'll reap the rewards of selling lots of fuel during an evacuation. If not, he won't.

"But Ed" you whine, "isn't this a public safety issue? What if people run out of gas and get stranded in the path of a hurricane because the gas stations can't pump the gas. Doesn't the government have a public responsibility to safeguard the citizenry"?

Silly socialist reader, if we are attacked by Venezuela then yes, the government has a responsibility to safeguard the citizenry. If there is a consumer demand for a commodity during a natural disaster, the free market, unfettered by government mandates and motivated by competitive advantage and profit, will provide immediate and efficient solutions at a competitive price.

Florida gas station owner...complying with onerous government mandates.

Hat tip Miamiherald.com.