Many of our current elected officials seem to be ignorant of some basic economic principles. The free market is the best system for the exchange of goods and services. During times of short supply this may be painful to buyers, but when government tries to interfere with the laws of supply and demand they invariably make the situation worse. If they fix a price below its market value a shortage will happen. If they fix a price above its market value a surplus will always develop. Price gouging laws prevent goods from reaching customers during times of crisis or shortage by reducing the incentive to bring these goods to market. Minimum wage laws which raise the price of labor above their free market value cause unemployment to increase and decrease the incomes of those exempted from those laws such as farmers, fishermen, and domestic helpers by increasing the demand for these jobs by unskilled workers.