When the price of a good is below its equilibrium price, a shortage ensues. You think that's the case with tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service? Ya, you betcha!
The life and music of the self-proclaimed "king of pop," who died of sudden cardiac arrest last Thursday, will be celebrated on Tuesday at the Staples Center, a basketball arena in downtown Los Angeles.
Officials on Friday unveiled an ambitious online lottery that will allow fans to attend either the televised service at the arena or watch the proceedings on a big screen at the nearby Nokia Theater.
Why not charge for these tickets and give the money to some charity or help settle Mr. Jackson's debts? It should have been a-priori clear that $0 was too low of a price to charge for tickets to this service. Somebody is going to profit off of this service and it might as well have been someone closer to Mr. Jackson's camp.