--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A shortage is a sign that somebody is…" description: "\"A shortage is a sign that somebody is keeping the price artificially lower than it would be if supply and demand were allowed to operate freely.\" — Tho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/thomas-sowell-247_demand_a-shortage-is-a-sign-that-somebody-is-ke_1200666.jpg" --- # A shortage is a sign that somebody is keeping the price… ![“A shortage is a sign that somebody is keeping the price artificially lower than it would be if supply and demand were allowed to operate freely.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/thomas-sowell-247_demand_a-shortage-is-a-sign-that-somebody-is-ke_1200666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/thomas-sowell-247_demand_a-shortage-is-a-sign-that-somebody-is-ke_1200666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/432/thomas-sowell-247_demand_a-shortage-is-a-sign-that-somebody-is-ke_1200666.jpg) > “A shortage is a sign that somebody is keeping the price artificially lower than it would be if supply and demand were allowed to operate freely.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artificially low prices indicate market interference, preventing natural supply‑demand balance. **In simple terms:** Low prices may signal hidden market controls. Key Takeaway Watch for price manipulation. Themes economics market policy price control Mood analytical critical Type educational analytical When to use this quote - consumer pricing - housing markets - energy costs - healthcare - agriculture Key Concepts supply and demand government intervention price fixing Questions to Reflect On - What price signals are you ignoring? - How can you identify hidden subsidies? A Different Perspective Market forces can be distorted by external shocks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Supply and demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supply-and-demand/) ## Related quotes > [Supply and demand eventually rebalance. We've seen this again and again and again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-gorman/supply-and-demand-eventually-rebalance-we-ve-seen-this-again-and/) [James P. Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-gorman/) > [Supply and demand regulate architectural form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/supply-and-demand-regulate-architectural-form/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Capitalism does millions of things better than the alternatives. 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But solar and wind are abundant and renewable resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-laws-of-supply-and-demand-drive-up-the-price-inevitably-over-time/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We are headed toward 'perfect capitalism,' when the laws of supply and demand become exact, because everyone knows everything about a product, service or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/we-are-headed-toward-perfect-capitalism-when-the-laws-of-supply-and/) [Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/) > [The opinions that the price of commodities depends solely on the proportion of supply and demand, or demand to supply, has become almost an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/the-opinions-that-the-price-of-commodities-depends-solely-on-the/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [You can make even a parrot into a learned political economist - all he must learn are the two words "supply" and "demand."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/you-can-make-even-a-parrot-into-a-learned-political-economist-all-he/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The price of ability does not depend on merit but on supply and demand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-price-of-ability-does-not-depend-on-merit-but-on-supply-and-demand/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The equilibrium between supply and demand is achieved only through a reaction against the upsetting of the equilibrium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-equilibrium-between-supply-and-demand-is-achieved-only-through-a/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [“Basic economic theory tells us that if you want something that’s both rare and valuable, you need something rare and valuable to offer in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/basic-economic-theory-tells-us-that-if-you-want-something-that-s-both/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Food is a product of supply and demand, so try to figure out where the supplies are fresh, the suppliers are creative, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/food-is-a-product-of-supply-and-demand-so-try-to-figure-out-where-the/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [All I ever did was supply a demand that was pretty popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capone/all-i-ever-did-was-supply-a-demand-that-was-pretty-popular/) [Al Capone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capone/) > [Be yourself on stage. Nobody else can be you and you have the law of supply and demand covered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/be-yourself-on-stage-nobody-else-can-be-you-and-you-have-the-law-of/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [The market insures that any quantity of money is capable of performing all the work required of a medium of exchange by adjusting its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-salerno/the-market-insures-that-any-quantity-of-money-is-capable-of/) Joseph Salerno ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. 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Truett Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-truett-cathy/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Money should be ones demand and command one should not become slave of money..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/money-should-be-ones-demand-and-command-one-should-not-become-slave/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. 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