I find it funny that at various times when I have used basic economic reasoning to either correctly predict or explain reality, my contributions are dismissedas being "simplistic" or "copied from an Econ 200 Text book." Yet we are witnessing a perfect example of "simplistic" economicreasoning playing its self out exactly as basic economics predicts. People are changing their behavior, in this case taking greater and greater precaution toconserve gasoline, because the price is higher.
Perhaps in the future, we would consider it prudent to realize that even complex political, financial, business and economic situations tend to turn on basic,simple and essential elements and principles of economics. Perhaps instead of being incredulous of logically sound explanations, that happen to sometimes besimple, we should be more willing to dismiss explanations that are needlessly lengthy and complex. The reason is because such explanations are usuallyconstructed so as to cloak either the ignorance or the agenda of the person with made the lengthy explanation, long on rhetoric and insults and short on logicand substance.