Not to mention gas prices already serve a rationing function. People drive less with higher prices. If government set an artificially low price but also issued ration cards to consumers, you'd have a run on gas stations, gas lines, and a helluva lot of fraud, graft, corruption, and black market gasoline sales.

There's no sense in rationing unless there's a natural disaster which so adversely impacts supply that what remains must be rationed in order to enable the government and industry to restore infrastructure to the point that supply can be expanded.

What we have now is not such a situation but rather a government-imposed ceiling on supply (no drilling in ANWR, federal moratorium on offshore, etc.).

Aw man, you missed some good stuff. Aside from gas lines you had 20% mortgage rates to go with sky-high unemployment and inflation. You had hostages in Iran for a third of Jimma's presidency. Then Jimma laid the ground work for the ass backward environmental policies that are screwing us today, mainly the shutdown of domestic drilling. But most importantly, you had this:

http://www.the-forum...

Gas cap locks were in high demand back then. I was in Germany during most of Carters years, but I remember reading the paper and seeing pictures of lines in gas stations and reading about fist fights breaking out in the lines. Being from Oklahoma, everybody was employed, most in the oil and gas businesses. I myself was making money hand over fist as a welder. Life was good. But I know other states were in deep trouble. If and when Obama gets in office, I look for the same missteps as Carter made. Carter will be able to point to Obama and say "See! I am not the worst President, ever. He is!"

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

We "self-ration" the MSM in our house.

The hidden context of that poll is that the price will be artificially set to some lower than market value. To keep people from hoarding or over-using, we'll have to ration. If the government does not subsidize the lower prices then the suppliers will hold back their product which will force rationing as the supplies dry up (a la Jimmy Carter fiasco). Either way we're screwed.

Economics should a be required subject, period.   Its as necessary as English or Arithmetic.

Global Warming, Killgrave. GW has eliminated the need for heating oil.

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

Perhaps you weren't there for the '70s. One of the reasons for the long gas lines and stations running out is that people paniced and changed their buying habits. They started filling up every time they got near a station. They siphoned the gas off into cans stored at home. Etc., etc., etc. There were tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline being stored all over the country that would have never been bought if not for the panic. In our scenario, it would be caused by the artificial low price dictated by the government. People would over-buy just to get the maximum of discounted fuel and store up for the return of 'normal' pricing.

Finally!! a solution I can get behind. All the far left and AGW fanatics can show us how to conserve by being put on a rationing schedule. Once the rest of us see how well they are doing and how the climate is being corrected back to the globally established "Norm" then the rest of us will have the option to voluntarily give up our cars, electricity basically all the trappings of a modern society then we will show those evil oil companies!!!