I too was surprised by the uncharacteristic article. However, to counter the article, one of the hosts on CNN’s talkshow this morning was discussing price gouging, refering to the case where Kansas is sueing a Florida supplier for selling Flu vaccine vials for $900 versus the usual price of $35. He said, paraphrasing, “Economics 101″ dictates that if the supply of vaccines is halved then the price should double; therefore, it’s clearly a case of price gouging. Anyone who actually remembers Economics 101 can quickly discount his statment, realizing that the true relationship between quantity supplied and price depends on the elasticity of the supply schedule. He demostrated his true agenda – not to economically enlighten us – when he later questioned “Whay isn’t the government providing these vaccines?” I suspected it was only a matter of time until the masses began calling for government to fix this apparent market failure.
As an aside, I hypothesize that a person who supports their argument citing “Economics 101″ probably did not excel in the class, or would not if they took it again.

“Talk is cheap, because supply always exceeds demand.”