I just happened to read this informative NY Times article about the energy crunch in China and how gov't subsidies have created some of the problems by distorting the normal workings of the market.

So, for those who think that gov't should step in do things like freeze gasoline prices, drop the gas tax, etc., China is a good example that it doesn't necessarily work as expected over the long haul, particularly when prices are changing rapidly.

I learned some new things from this article. For example, I knew that many areas in China suffer from electricity shortages but I always thought that it was simply a lag in building new generating capacity to keep up with new development. But I had no idea that some of the more recent shortages is because although producers have the power plants, they are deciding not to use their oil-fired plants because the subsidies don't let them recoup their oil costs when they sell their electricity. What a crazy situation. Well, no more crazy than the financial shenanigans and artificial electricity shortages that led to the periodic rolling blackouts here in California during the booming Enron days, I guess.