I'm old enough to remember the gas lines back in the 70s. The reason for the lines is that we had price controls on gasoline. Price controls lead to shortages. Gas stations would run out of gas and you had to drive around to find one that was open, then wait in a long line to get gas.

I remember one time I was driving and driving looking for a station that had gas, until I finally ran out. My engine died and I had to park. I left my car and carried a gas can to a nearby gas station, went inside and asked if they knew anywhere I could get gas. The station attendant admitted that they did have gas, but only a little bit, so they didn't want to open up because people would line up and then be angry when the station ran out before they got to the front.

He took pity on me and let me fill my gas can, but he led me out to the pump and we both had to crouch down behind the pump so that we weren't visible from the street. "Make sure nobody can see us," he said. "I don't want to get mobbed."

That's how it was back then. Black market transactions, people doing and trading favors, having to waste hours waiting in lines. It was like something out of the worst of Soviet communism.

Price controls were a big failure. As far as rationing, I can't imagine who will decide which of the millions of Los Angeles commuters deserve to be able to drive to work. I just don't see a system like that being workable in our complex society.

Letting the price float isn't going to be popular either, but at least it avoids creating a black market and it lets people decide how to trade off gasoline against other things they might go without. And I know this doesn't get any points around here, but it also happens to be economically the most efficient way for society to adjust to a shortage.