>When someone says "there is a shortage of oil" Someone else should immediately retort with "At what price?" >It's a bit silly to say "there are no shortages!

>When someone says "there is a shortage of oil" Someone else should immediately retort with "At what price?" >It's a bit silly to say "there are no shortages! Only cheap consumers!" It's only silly insofar as shortages result despite the existence of consumers willing to pay market rates; these generally involve state-imposed price ceilings. What is silly is conflating "shortage" with "someone somewhere wants something but isn't willing to pay the market rate".