Here is a fascinating interesting story in yesterday's New York Times on gas shortages and price ceilings in Venezuela. (Zero-priced registration required.)

Motorists in the United States smarting from rising gasoline prices, take note: Mr. Taurisano pays the equivalent of $1.50 to fill his Hummer’s tank. Thanks to a decades-old subsidy that has proven devilishly complex to undo, gasoline in Venezuela costs about 7 cents a gallon compared with an average $2.86 a gallon in the United States.

It turns out that this popular subsidy mostly benefits the wealthy and has been in place there since the 1940s.