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How is that a solution? What happens when the good in question is food?

by ip26 5y ago

axiolite 5y ago
> What happens when the good in question is food? Prices go up on the food most people prefer to eat, first. People who cannot afford the foods they're accustomed to eating will switch to lower-priced foods they would never have considered otherwise. That's largely how tomatoes, potatoes, and more came into use... Desperate, hungry peasants. When food suppliers see the increase in price, they will work hard to squeeze more yield out of their existing supplies, and as soon as possible will invest in producing more (typically for next year). Others who are capable of producing food, but normally produce something else due to economics, will see the equation change in favor of food and switch their output. Famines are not caused or encouraged by supply/demand economics. It is vastly more common for communist governments to cause them.
- ip26 5y ago
  I don’t have a problem with supply/demand economics, and certainly the market exerts pressure to economize like you say. I just take issue with the There’s no such thing as a shortage perspective.
  - josephcsible 5y ago
    There is such thing as a shortage, but persistent shortages are only possible due to government meddling.
- engineer_22 5y ago
  Famine is a terrifying word to brandish so flippantly. God help us we don't find ourselves in a JIT situation with our staple crops. A famine would make COVID-19 look like a walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon.
roenxi 5y ago
It isn't a solution, it is a rejection of the problem. There isn't such a thing as a 'chip shortage', because that implies some natural number of chips that should exist. That number isn't a constant, it is a function of supply and demand. Therefore there is no such thing as a chip shortage. We'd maybe like prices to be higher or lower depending on our perspective. > What happens when the good in question is food? If there are 10 mouths and 9 meals then there is a food shortage. But that is a biological observation, not an economic one.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  > That number isn't a constant, it is a function of supply and demand. Therefore there is no such thing as a chip shortage. It does take some time for prices to adjust, and if the supply and/or demand curves shift very quickly, there absolutely can be a temporary shortage. I think that's what we're going through now.
  - roenxi 5y ago
    We've been seeing 'shortages' since 2016; I remember there being a lot of trouble sourcing a good GPU. This is probably some deeper problem than a short term issue. It isn't like COVID is a surprise any more, it has been with us for nearly 2 years.
namaria 5y ago
When we start hitting food shortages down the line from climate change induced damage, you will get to witness the alternative: powerful countries confiscating supplies for their rich citizens (at stable prices to stave off rebellion of course).

How is that a solution? What happens when the good in question is food?

by ip26 5y ago

How is that a solution? What happens when the good in question is food?

> What happens when the good in question is food? Prices go up on the food most people prefer to eat, first. People who cannot afford the foods they're accustomed to eating will switch to lower-priced foods they would never have considered otherwise. That's largely how tomatoes, potatoes, and more came into use... Desperate, hungry peasants. When food suppliers see the increase in price, they will work hard to squeeze more yield out of their existing supplies, and as soon as possible will invest in producing more (typically for next year). Others who are capable of producing food, but normally produce something else due to economics, will see the equation change in favor of food and switch their output. Famines are not caused or encouraged by supply/demand economics. It is vastly more common for communist governments to cause them.

ip26 5y ago
I don’t have a problem with supply/demand economics, and certainly the market exerts pressure to economize like you say. I just take issue with the There’s no such thing as a shortage perspective.
- josephcsible 5y ago
  There is such thing as a shortage, but persistent shortages are only possible due to government meddling.
engineer_22 5y ago
Famine is a terrifying word to brandish so flippantly. God help us we don't find ourselves in a JIT situation with our staple crops. A famine would make COVID-19 look like a walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon.

roenxi 5y ago

It isn't a solution, it is a rejection of the problem. There isn't such a thing as a 'chip shortage', because that implies some natural number of chips that should exist. That number isn't a constant, it is a function of supply and demand. Therefore there is no such thing as a chip shortage. We'd maybe like prices to be higher or lower depending on our perspective. > What happens when the good in question is food? If there are 10 mouths and 9 meals then there is a food shortage. But that is a biological observation, not an economic one.

josephcsible 5y ago
> That number isn't a constant, it is a function of supply and demand. Therefore there is no such thing as a chip shortage. It does take some time for prices to adjust, and if the supply and/or demand curves shift very quickly, there absolutely can be a temporary shortage. I think that's what we're going through now.
- roenxi 5y ago
  We've been seeing 'shortages' since 2016; I remember there being a lot of trouble sourcing a good GPU. This is probably some deeper problem than a short term issue. It isn't like COVID is a surprise any more, it has been with us for nearly 2 years.

namaria 5y ago

When we start hitting food shortages down the line from climate change induced damage, you will get to witness the alternative: powerful countries confiscating supplies for their rich citizens (at stable prices to stave off rebellion of course).