I sold something on Craigslist the other day and got to thinking about something that I often do–economics. I first listed the item for $10. No takers. Yet, no one complained to the government that I was price gouging. People that didn’t like my price simply didn’t buy what I was offering for sale. Their failure to purchase the item signaled to me that perhaps the price was too high. I lowered it $8. This time I got a phone call. After meeting a willing buyer at a local McDonalds, I exchanged my item for his $8. I did not get his name. He did not get my name. No tax was collected. No permit to sell the item was purchased. The sale will not be reported to the government or the IRS. This is the way commerce ought to be conducted.

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