In what must have been something of a shock to Mr Herbert and his editors at the NY Times he manages to both recognise and correctly apply one of the simpler tenets of economics:

The Energy Department expects heating oil bills to increase nearly 30 percent this year, and that may be a conservative estimate. Thermostats across the country are heading down, down, down.

Perhaps there is hope for him yet? Why, he might even get to page two of the large print Econ textbook where this is explained:

The flu vaccine shortage has led to price-gouging and long lines of sick and elderly patients, some of them on the verge of panic.

If the government is the monopsonistic buyer, and they set the price too low, then there will be a shortage of the goods under discussion. Or, in simpler terms, Bob, you’ve noted that prices have an effect on demand curves, why not also think about what effect they might have on supply curves? I wouldn’t suggest you hold your breath for Mr Herbert to recognise this little piece of the blindingly obvious. It might lead to the idea that government intervention is not, always, the best solution to a problem and I’m not sure that his world view could sustain such a shocking revelation.