Wonder why there's *always* a shortage of...

...every "socialized" commodity?

HERE, writ large and obvious so even the dullards might finally get it.

Mr Mugabe has accused business interests of fuelling inflation, running at about 20,000%, to bring down his government. A hotline is in place to report "overcharging", and retailers who flinch at slashing prices are being dragged before the courts. Several thousand have been arrested for "profiteering" over the past week, including the chief executives of the biggest retailers in the country, some of them foreign-owned.

Economists say the price cuts will only deepen the national crisis, leaving many shops bare because they will not be able to afford to restock while official retail prices remain lower than the cost of buying wholesale or importing. Mr Mugabe has dismissed such warnings as "bookish economics".

Now, if you want to get somewhat serious about understanding why this is happening:

The Primer: Henry Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson"
Some Details: Ludwig von Mises' "Human Action"

A part of the "why":

Ludwig von Mises' "Economic Calculation in the Socialist Commonwealth" (pdf) --

or just read this Human Action excerpt for starters:

"The Impossibility of Economic Calculation Under Socialism"

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H/T: Billy Beck's Two-Four