Law of demand is at work

In economics, the law of demand says that the lower the price, the more a good is in demand. One example of this is seen when a gas station accidentally posts a very low price. Drivers form long lines and quickly empty the underground tanks.

Another example can be seen with H-1B visa workers, though it is not a mistake. The visa recipients are young and often entry level. As a result, corporate demand quickly uses all the visas allotted by Congress each year.

After all the visas have been issued (tanks are empty), corporations want more. So they make up news such as that seen recently in The Gazette (“Supply, demand and the U.S. Congress,” Aug. 25) about there being a labor shortage when in reality the law of demand is at work. Now if you apply corporate logic to the gas station example, only one conclusion can be reached. Gas shortage!

Alan Jensen

Cedar Rapids