The Importance of Price Signals
The argument starts that people who need gas more are going to buy it in the shortage (suggesting efficient distribution), and then acknowledges that it's just as likely wealthier people or price gougers who don't need it.<p>In actual shortages where there's a strong political motivation to efficiently distribute goods (e.g. wartime), we switch to central planning (i.e. rations) because we know that's what works, denying price gougers their tax and making sure poor people who need stuff can get it.