The scalping of “free” tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll quickly reached new heights. The Washington Times reports that they are selling for nearly $1,000 on eBay.

I have mixed feelings about such scalping. It’s against the rules, so I’d never do it and don’t think other people should, either. On the other hand, in a truly free-market system, scalping would be legal.

If people want to pay hundreds of dollars for tickets they could have gotten for free had they been blessed by the luck of the online draw, let ‘em buy the tickets.

I’d also hate to see children turned away from the White House for this special event because their parents wanted to treat them. But it sounds like that’s what the White House is planning to do:

Semonti M. Mustaphi, deputy press secretary for first lady Michelle Obama, said Friday that officials were working with online sellers to prevent scalping.

“We monitor Web sites that facilitate third-party sales to ensure that tickets to White House functions are used properly,” Ms. Mustaphi said. “Companies are cooperating, and sales of the tickets will not be valid.”

The confrontations could get ugly outside the White House come Monday the 13th.